With You by My Side
by Thalia Grace DaughterofZeus13
Summary: Sequel to The Best Thing I Have. Season five re-write. Between her mother's illness, the new threat named Glory, and the strange origin of Dawn, Buffy and Angel barely have time to think about getting married. But they never forget what's important: love.
1. Buffy vs Dracula

**Here is volume two of my series! I case you are new to this, I recommend you read _The Best Thing I Have _first. If you are stubborn and don't want to, or you just want to remember what happened in the last volume, here is a recap:**

**Angel didn't leave Buffy at the end of season three. He came back at the last minute.**

**Angel has the ring of Amarra, so he can go out during the day and stuff like that.**

**Willow and Tara used a spell to bind Angel's soul, so true happiness won't cause him to lose it.**

**Buffy and Riley are just friends, although Riley is in love with her. He knows he can't separate her from Angel, so they're just friends. **

**At the end of the last story, which was the finale of season four, Angel proposed to Buffy, and she said yes. They have NOT told anyone they are engaged yet.**

**I think that's about it! Here is the first chapter of volume 2: Buffy vs. Dracula.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Buffy the Vampire Slayer**

Angel woke up. Just a little bit of sunlight shown through the blinds on the window, but he wasn't in danger for at least an hour. It was probably early morning, judging by the light. He was in Buffy's room, he had spent the night. Buffy was still asleep next to him. He rolled over and just looked at her. She was so beautiful in her sleep. And while she was fighting, and laughing, and just looking at something…always. She was always beautiful.

She opened her eyes and smiled at him. He smiled back, he couldn't help it. "Good morning." He said, running his hand through her hair.

"Morning." She replied. They kissed, and then Buffy asked, "How did you sleep?"

"Better than usual. You often have that effect on me."

She laughed. "I'm glad. Soon you'll never have to go a night without me." She kissed him again, and then continued. "I think we should tell the Scoobies today."

He looked at her, and saw she was smiling. "Really?"

"Yeah. I mean, I don't think I'm ready to tell Mom yet. Or Giles. But Willow, Xander, Riley…those guys. I think we should get together today and tell them."

Angel smiled back at her. "If you're ready. I know it's a big thing to announce."

"It is. And I'm so happy to be marrying you. It's just, some people will be less than thrilled."

"I know. But I'm ready to tell them if you are."

She kissed him again. "Today, then. Come on, we should get up."

**0000000oooooooo000000**

Buffy had called Willow and Tara, Xander and Anya, and Riley, and they were all going to lunch together at the café. Buffy and Angel would tell them that they were engaged. Buffy wasn't ready to tell her mother yet, or Giles, who was like a father to her. But she was excited to tell her friends.

They all got a table and sat down to eat. "So," Willow said "What's up, everyone?"

"I'm out of the Initiative for good." Riley said. "I'm normal now."

"That makes one of us." Buffy said.

"I'm normal." Xander argued.

"Barely. You're dating a thousand year old demon." Buffy pointed out.

"You're dating a two-hundred and forty-five year old vampire." Xander retorted.

"True."

"I'm trying to convince Xander to find his own apartment." Anya said. "He needs to get out of the basement. His parents are always walking in on us while we're-"

"Anya!" Xander interrupted, turning red.

Willow laughed, and then turned to Buffy and Angel. "Anything new with you guys?"

Buffy glances at Angel, who smiled reassuringly and squeezed her hand under the table. "Actually, there is. That's why we wanted to see you."

"What's up?" Xander asked.

Buffy took a deep breath. "Angel and I…" she reached into her pocket and slipped on her ring "are getting married." She held out her hand and showed them the ring.

Willow shrieked and jumped up. "Oh my god!"

Riley choked on his food and started coughing.

Xander just kind of sat there in shock. "Wow…"

Anya got up and hugged Buffy. "I am hugging you to say congratulations, as is customary." She said.

Tara got up too, but she surprised Angel by hugging him instead of Buffy. "Congratulations."

"When did this happen?" Riley asked, recovering from his coughing fit.

"Um…" Buffy looked slightly uncomfortable "A few months ago?"

"And you're just now telling us?" Xander said, looking outraged.

"Shame on you!" Willow cried. "Let me see the ring!"

Buffy held out her hand so Willow could see her ring. "Listen, we haven't told Giles or my mom yet, so keep this quiet, ok?"

"Sure thing." Tara said.

Buffy glanced at Xander. He looked slightly shocked, but he smiled at her. "If you're happy."

Buffy grinned back at him. "I am."

"Then I'm happy for you." He hugged her.

Riley looked uncomfortable. "I just remembered. I have to be at…a place. I'll see you guys later." He left. Buffy frowned as she watched him leave. Then she looked at her watch a gasped.

"I promised Mom I'd be home by two, and it's already one thirty! I need to go too." She stood up and looked at Angel. "See you tonight?"

"Can't wait." He kissed her goodbye.

"Wait, Buffy, I'll walk home with you!" Willow got up. Buffy grinned. She knew why Willow was coming.

As soon as they were around the corner, Willow pushed Buffy. "You're engaged, and you didn't tell me? Meany!"

Buffy laughed. "Sorry."

"This is so exciting, Buffy! I knew you and Angel would get married eventually, I knew it. We have to celebrate! We'll do something soon, something non-slaying related."

**0000000oooooo0000000**

Buffy and Angel were at the beach with Willow, Tara, Xander, and Anya. This was the celebration Willow had wanted to have in honor of Buffy and Angel's engagement. Riley had decided not to come. It was odd for Angel to be at the beach in the middle of the day; a year ago he wouldn't have dared, and would have called anyone who told him to either crazy or the First. Magic rings, however, change everything, and he was actually having a nice time.

Xander was supposed to be making hamburgers, but was having trouble getting the grill started. The rest of them were all talking and laughing.

"Having fun?" Buffy asked Angel.

"Yeah. I haven't been to the beach since…" he trailed off, thinking hard. There were giggles from the others. "Uh…actually, I can't remember that last time I was at a beach."

"Been a long time then." Buffy laughed. "Hey, Xander! Where's my burger?"

"Sorry." Xander sighed. "I'm having trouble starting a fire."

"It's not hard." Willow insisted. "Watch." She concentrated on the spot, and flames erupted in the grill.

"Wow." Buffy said, impressed. "Look at you, Wil."

"It's all about making sure you don't mess up the elements and accidently-"Willow broke off as clouds appeared and it started raining. Angel laughed as they all quickly got up and ran off. "I didn't do that!" Willow cried.

"Sure you didn't." Angel said.

"Oh, shut up, Angel." Willow retorted.

**0000000ooooooo0000000**

Later, Buffy was with Angel at the mansion. They were having a much-needed make out session on the bed. When they finally pulled away, Buffy smiled. "I love you, Angel."

Angel smiled back. "And I love you too, Buffy." Buffy leaned back and rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. Angel ran his fingers through her hair gently. "You know we should probably tell them soon, right?"

"Tell who what?"

"Tell your family and Giles that we're engaged."

Buffy nodded. "I know. It's just not an easy thing to tell everyone. I mean, I love you with all my heart, but some people might be a little unhappy with the while slayer marrying a vampire thing."

"They're all your family." Angel said. "They'll understand and be happy for you."

"They're _our_ family." Buffy corrected. "They'll be happy for _us_. And you're right. As always." She added, laughing slightly. Angel grinned. Buffy wrapped her arms around him. "It'll all work out. Mom will just be disappointed by the no-grandchildren thing."

Angel didn't even have a chance to reply; Buffy had pressed her lips to his again.

**0000000ooooooo0000000**

Angel was walking with Willow and Xander, heading to join Buffy in patrol in the graveyard. "Guys," Willow began, "Can you keep a secret?"

Angel and Xander glanced at each other. "Yeah." They said at the same time.

"Ok, let's say I know a secret, and I can't tell you, but if I did, what would you do?"

"Uh…" Angel began, confused.

"I do know a secret." Willow burst out suddenly. "But I'm not going to tell you."

"Ok." Xander said, also looking confused.

They kept walking. A minute later, Willow said, "So say I did tell you-"

"Willow!" Angel sighed.

"Sorry."

**0000000ooooooo000000**

Willow, Xander, and Angel found Buffy in the graveyard. There was someone else with her, and he looked very vampire-ish. Angel stopped short. He recognized the vampire…this wasn't good.

Xander was staring at the vampire. "Who is this guy?"

"Xander-"Angel began warningly, but Xander ignored him.

"Nice costume." Xander said.

"Xander-"Angel began again.

"Who is this?" the vampire asked. "Leave us."

"No, we're not going to _leave you._ And where did you get that accent, Sesame Street?" Xander laughed. "_One, two, three victims-_"

"Xander!" Buffy said.

"What?" Xander asked.

"I'm pretty sure that's Dracula." Buffy said.

"No way, really?" Xander cried, stepping back behind Buffy. "I was just joking!" he called to Dracula.

"You're an idiot, Xander." Angel said, stepping forward. Dracula saw him.

"Angelus." Dracula hissed. Buffy looked at Angel incredulously.

"You _know Dracula_?" she cried.

"We've met." Angel said tersely.

"Uh huh…and you never once bothered to mention this?"

"It never came up."

"I'm the Slayer, and your girlfriend! You could have brought it up!"

"Is this really the time to argue?" Willow cried.

"No, sorry." Buffy said.

"I heard that you were involved with the Slayer these days, Angelus." Dracula said.

"I don't go by that name anymore." Angel growled.

"Angel, then."

"Get out of here, Dracula." Angel said. "Don't come messing with my girl or her friends."

"I will leave you. For now. But I'll return…you best beware, Angelus." With that, Dracula turned to smoke and blew away, literally.

"Wow." Xander said.

"Story?" Buffy said irritably, turning to Angel.

Angel sighed. "When we get to Giles. Come on."

**0000000ooooooo0000000**

Everyone was gathered in Giles's apartment. Buffy was sitting in a chair with Angel leaning over her from behind. Xander, Anya, and Willow were sitting on the couch. Tara was sitting on the arm of the couch next to Willow. Riley was sitting on the table, and Giles was going through some books, moving around the room.

"He had heard of me!" Buffy said excitedly. Angel couldn't help but smile.

"You know, the first twenty or so times I didn't really get it," Riley said teasingly, "But now it's finally sinking in."

"Sorry." Buffy said. "It's just a big deal, you know?"

"He was really handsome." Willow said. "His eyes…"

"You thought Dracula was handsome?" Tara asked uncertainly. Willow realized what she had said.

"No! Not at all. He wasn't that handsome."

"Are you kidding?" Anya asked. "The whole dark, tall, and handsome thing!"

They all looked at her. "You know Dracula too?" Xander cried.

"Yeah. We hung out a few times, when I was a demon."

"My girlfriend used to hang out with Dracula." Xander sighed, shaking his head.

"Angel knows Dracula." Willow said.

"Oh yeah." Buffy remembered. "You promised you'd tell me how you know Dracula."

The others all looked curiously at Angel. He sighed. "There's no big story, really. Back when I was Angelus, I ran into him a few times along with Darla, Drusilla, and Spike."

"Spike knows him too?" Riley asked.

"Figures." Tara said.

"He's mostly talk." Angel said. "Actually, a lot of vampires rather dislike him, because he was the one who let our story out. All of our secrets, like the mirrors. I'm pretty sure he owes Spike money…and possibly me too, I never remember. His weaknesses are pretty much the same as any other vampire."

"But doesn't he have powers of some kind?" Buffy asked. "You saw him in the graveyard, he kept turning into smoke and stuff. How does he do that?"

"Just some basic magic tricks. Nothing really special. Still, he's cunning. We can't underestimate him." Angel told them.

**Later that night**

Buffy was heading home. Angel promised to meet her there later. He had to make a stop first.

Angel threw the door to Spike's crypt open. "Doesn't anybody ever knock?" Spike asked.

"No time to knock." Angel said. "We've got an old friend in town."

This got Spike's interest. "Do tell. Which old friend?"

"Dracula."

"Old Drac's back in town?" Spike looked mildly intrigued.

"Yeah. And I think he's after Buffy."

"Oh. Well that is a problem. If he made a special trip just to get to her…"

"My thoughts exactly. You've got to help me find him and protect Buffy."

Spike looked amused. "You really are in love with her, aren't you? Even asking me for help once you realize her life is on the line. That's love, Angel."

"I know." He hesitated, and then said, "We're engaged."

Spike looked up. "You and Buffy?"

"Of course me and Buffy, who else would I be talking about?"

"Well…good for you."

"But it's a secret."

"Who would I tell? I'm not exactly on good terms with…anyone, actually."

"Are you going to help me fight Dracula or not?"

"Fine. But tomorrow night, ok? I've got stuff to do tonight."

"What could _you_ possibly…oh never mind. See you tomorrow." Angel turned and left as quickly as he had come.

He walked to the Summers's house. Maybe he would spend the night with Buffy again…he was hesitant about leaving her alone for too long, with Dracula prowling around. Plus he loved having Buffy next to him while he was asleep. He loved having Buffy next to him anytime, actually.

It was pretty late; she would probably be asleep already. Maybe he'd just slip into bed next to her. He reached the house, and was walking up the lawn when he noticed something. Smoke was drifting up and into Buffy's bedroom window. He had never seen ordinary smoke make a sharp turn before…

"Buffy!" Angel yelled, and he ran through the yard and burst through the front door with a loud bang. He raced up the stairs, down the hall, past Joyce who had run out of her room after hearing all the noise, and opened Buffy's door, throwing himself inside.

Dracula was standing by Buffy's bed, where Buffy was staring at him, transfixed. When the door opened, however, she snapped out of her trance. Angel tackled Dracula to the ground, taking him so off guard that he didn't even turn to smoke until after a couple of good punches. "Leave her alone!" Angel yelled as Dracula floated out the window. He turned to Buffy, who had gotten out of bed, and pulled her into his arms. "Did he hurt you?"

"No…but I think he was going to…"

"What is going on?" Joyce was standing in the doorway, staring at them with wide eyes. "Was there a vampire?"

"Yeah." Buffy said. "But Angel scared him away…for now…" she looked at Angel. "How did he get in? Surely even he needs an invitation to come inside."

"Yeah, he does." Angel looked thoughtful, and then looked at Joyce. "Joyce, did you possibly invite a very handsome young man into the house earlier today?"

Joyce looked uncomfortable. "Well…"

"Mother!" Buffy cried, appalled.

"That's a specialty of his." Angel said. "Charm someone into inviting him in."

"I didn't know he was a vampire." Joyce said. "Who is he, anyway?"

Buffy and Angel were silent for a moment. Finally, Buffy said in a small voice, "Count Dracula."

"_Count Dracula?_" Joyce yelled. "Oh god…I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault. You're not the first one to fall for that trick." Angel said kindly. "He's been doing that for centuries."

"I think I need to lie down." Joyce said faintly. "See you both in the morning." She walked away.

"Wow." Buffy said. "She is in shock. She didn't even do her little routine of asking if you were spending the night in that really disapproving way."

Angel smiled. "I don't blame her."

"Are you spending the night?"

"After this fiasco? I may never let you sleep alone again."

"I'm not complaining."

Angel smiled and kissed her, and closed her bedroom door.

**The next morning**

Buffy and Angel told everyone else about Dracula's visit the night before.

"He was in your room?" Willow asked with wide eyes.

Riley looked furious. "He deserves to be dust."

"I can't believe I'm saying this," Angel said, "But I agree with you."

"How do we do it, though?" Tara asked. "I mean, I'm sure people have tried to kill him before, and obviously were unsuccessful. He must have a ton of tricks up his sleeves."

"Of course he does." Anya said. "He's Dracula."

Xander hadn't said anything. He was acting weird. "Nothing can defeat the Dark Master." He said. Everyone stopped and stared at him. "Uh…I mean…"

"Never mind." Angel dismissed. "I don't think Buffy should be left alone at night until we at least drive him out of town."

"I agree with Angel." Giles said.

"We should also try to find his hideout. Dracula likes to live in style, so we can rule out sewers, caves…most of the typical stuff, actually." Angel said, thinking about it. He looked Buffy.

"Your call." She said. "You're the expert in this case."

Angel nodded, thinking. "Willow, Tara, can Buffy hang with you guys tonight?"

"Sure thing." Willow said, and Tara nodded.

"Good. So Buffy can go with you guys. Meanwhile…we need to search for Dracula. I want Giles, Riley, and I think I'll bring Spike. We'll go looking for his hideout."

"What should Xander and I do?" Anya asked.

"Nothing."

"Aw."

**That night**

Tara walked in and was met by Willow. "Hi baby." Willow said, and kissed her.

"Hi." Tara giggled. "Is Buffy here?"

Willow frowned. "No…she called and said you two had decided to meet up and then come here."

"We never made any plans like that." Tara said. Both girls looked at each other, horror dawning on their faces as they realized what had happened.

"Oh no." Tara groaned, and grabbed the phone. She dialed Buffy's number. "Hi Joyce, it's Tara. I'm good, is Buffy there? Ok…ok, thanks, bye." She put the phone down and shook her head. "Buffy's not home."

Willow smacked herself in the forehead. "Angel is going to _kill_ us."

**000000ooooooo0000000**

Angel, Spike (whom Angel had dragged along), Riley, and Giles were patrolling around town, looking for Dracula's hideout. As luck would have it, they came across a large castle on the outskirts of town. "Perfect." Angel and Spike said at the same time.

They started heading towards it. "You know," Angel said, "I've lived in Sunnydale for a while now. You know what I've never noticed?"

"A huge, un-hidden bloody castle?" Spike guessed.

"Exactly."

Once inside, they split up. Angel walked cautiously down one hallway. He turned the corner, and ran right into Riley, literally.

"Ouch." Riley muttered. "Any luck?"

"No." he tried to walk past the boy he disliked so much, but then he stopped. "Do you hear something?"

"Yeah…" Riley began, and suddenly Xander, of all people, burst into the room.

"If you want to get to the dark master, then you'll have to get by me first." He said. Angel and Riley looked at each other, shrugged, and both punched him in the face, knocking him out.

"No problem." Angel said smoothly. He nodded to Riley, and they split up again.

"Angel!" Spike's voice called a few minutes later. Angel turned to see Spike, dragging Giles along with him. "Dracula is definitely here. I found his little girlfriends trying to play the Watcher."

Angel suppressed the urge to laugh at the look on Giles's face. "Well at least we know we're in the right place. We should-"he was cut off by loud noises somewhere nearby. "Buffy." He said, and took off running, Spike right behind him, still pulling Giles.

They found Riley running for the same noises. "This way!" Angel yelled. "I'm getting Buffy's scent, this way!"

They burst into a large room, just in time to see Buffy dust Dracula. "Buffy Anne Summers!" Angel yelled, running straight at her and pulling her into his arms. "I told you to stay with Willow and Tara!"

"Sorry Angel." Buffy said. "But I took care of him…what did you do to Giles?"

"What? Oh, that, uh-"

Suddenly Xander burst into the room. "Where is he? Where is the creep who turned me into a spider-eating man bitch?"

"Gone." Buffy said, shrugging.

"Oh man! You know what? I'm sick of this crap! I'm tired of always being the guys who eats bugs and gets the funny syphilis! As of this moment, it's over. I'm sick of being everybody's butt-monkey!" Xander yelled. The others all stared at him.

"Right." Buffy said finally. "No more butt-monkey."

"Let's go." Angel said. He kissed Buffy. "You sure you're ok?"

"I'm fine Angel. Let's go home."

**The next morning**

Buffy woke up in Angel's arms, at the mansion. She rolled over and found him watching her, smiling playfully. "Hey sleepy head." He said.

"Good morning." She mumbled. She kissed him passionately for a minute, before slipping out of bed under his arm.

"Hey." He said indignantly.

"Sorry. I'd love to stick around, but Giles wants to see me soon. Says he has to tell me something." She said while digging around in the drawer for some clothes.

Angel sighed, and then also got up. "I suppose I'll have to let you go then."

"While I'm there…" Buffy hesitated, and looked at him. "I'm going to ask him to be my Watcher again."

Angel returned her look, and then nodded. "I think that's a good idea. What about the other thing. Are you ready to tell him about that?"

Buffy didn't answer at first. She looked at her engagement ring sitting on the table. Giles was like her father…he'd be happy for her…wouldn't he? "No." she whispered. She turned back to Angel. "I'm sorry, it's not that I'm having second thoughts or anything, I love you and I really want to get married but I'm just worried about-"

"Buffy." Angel interrupted, and she fell silent. "I understand. I'm not in any hurry; you can tell him and your mom when you're ready. I won't be mad." He pulled her in for a kiss. "Ok?"

Buffy smiled. "Ok." She kissed him.

"We'll do something later today, just you and me." Angel promised. "Sound good?"

"Wonderful. I should really get ready now." She pulled away and headed for the bathroom.

**Later that afternoon…**

Buffy was very happy. She had talked with Giles, and he was her Watcher again. She and Angel were going out in a couple of minutes, just them.

"Ready?" Angel asked. They were standing in the living room of her house.

"In a minute, let me grab something." Buffy hurried upstairs. "Mom, Angel and I are going to the movies!"

"Ok honey!" Joyce called back.

Buffy walked into her room and stopped short when she saw the brown haired girl looking through the stuff on her desk. "What are you doing in here?" she asked, annoyed.

"Buffy!" Joyce called. "If you're going out, why don't you take your sister?"

"Mom!" Buffy and Dawn both cried together.

**I love that episode. So anyway, I'm hoping to do the same thing with this story as I did with the last one and post a chapter per day. I can't promise it will actually happen every day, because of school and stuff, but I'm definitely going to try. Please review!**


	2. The Real Me

**Chapter/episode 2: The Real Me. I like this one.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Buffy the Vampire Slayer**

_ "Nobody knows who I am. Not the real me."_

Buffy and Angel walked into Buffy's house. "Mom? Dawn?" Buffy called.

"In the kitchen, honey!" Joyce called. Buffy led the way to the kitchen. "Morning, sweetie. Hi Angel."

"Good morning, Mrs. Summers." Angel said.

Buffy got a bowl out of the cabinet. "I'm going to have some cereal, if that's ok. We don't have any."

"I bought you food." Angel said, clearly having said this many times. "I thought I got cereal, I didn't realize we didn't have any. I'll buy some, ok?"

Buffy laughed and took the milk out of the fridge.

_ "I bet people wouldn't think she's so great if they had to live with her. She's just special because she can do back flips."_

Angel sat down next to Dawn. "Hey Dawnie."

_ "Angel is Buffy's boyfriend. He's pretty cool, I suppose. He's a vampire, which is really kind of weird considering Buffy is a vampire slayer. He's nice to me, anyway. He tells me I remind him of his little sister when he was human, Kathy. He even called me that by mistake once. He got really quiet afterward. Buffy told me Kathy's kind of a sensitive subject with him. _

_I've seen a lot of him this summer. Buffy's moving in with him for the school year, but she wanted to live at home for most of the summer, so he came to see her all the time. She's moving in with him right now, though. Her room's full of boxes, and some stuff's already at the old mansion Angel lives at. I'll think I'll miss him more than I miss Buffy. He always has cool stories to tell and he's really smart. He speaks more languages then I can count, and some of them aren't even human. Mom's made Buffy promise to visit more than she did last year, and Angel will probably come with sometimes, so hopefully I'll still get to see him sometimes. He's completely in love with Buffy, so I don't see them breaking up any time soon."_

"So what are your plans for today, Buffy?" Joyce asked.

"Well Angel and I were hoping to take a few more boxes up to the mansion, and then we're going to meet Giles and go to the magic shop to buy some stuff for slayer training." Buffy said.

"Great. You can take Dawn to get her back to school supplies." Joyce said.

"What?" Buffy and Dawn said together.

"But Mom, I thought you were going to take me." Dawn said.

"Mom, this is training. Whenever she comes to training she messes something up." Buffy insisted. "Angel, back me up."

"I'm not getting involved." Angel said.

"That's probably a smart move." Joyce told him.

Buffy pouted at him. "Sorry." He said.

She sighed. "Fine, we'll take her." She left the kitchen. Angel followed.

"Oh, come on." he whispered when he caught up with her. "It won't be so bad."

Someone knocked on the door. Joyce answered. "Hello Riley." She said.

"Hi Mrs. Summers." Riley said politely as he came inside.

_ "Riley is one of Buffy's friends and he is totally in to her. She was already taken by Angel by the time they met, though. Mom think Riley is really sweet, but I don't like him. And not just because he always calls me 'Kid'. Angel hates him. You can tell by the way he looks at him. I guess Riley's just tried to steal Buffy too many times."_

Angel growled quietly as Riley went to talk to Buffy. Dawn walked in and stood next to him. He looked at her. "Want to help me take some of the boxes to the car?"

Dawn shrugged. "Sure."

They went upstairs to Buffy's room, which was now filled with boxes. Dawn grabbed one and watched in awe as Angel picked up several of the biggest ones without difficulty. "The vampire strength is really amazing." She commented.

"It does come in useful." Angel agreed.

"The Slayer strength does too." Buffy said as she walked in. "Don't worry, Riley's gone."

"Thank goodness." Angel added. Buffy rolled her eyes at him.

"Anyway, let's get this stuff to the mansion. We have to meet Giles before long."

**0000000ooooooo0000000**

**The Mansion**

Dawn carried the box she'd carried into Buffy and Angel's bedroom. She set it down on the floor and looked around. Buffy had made her mark on the room. There was a table in the corner with a bunch of Buffy's stuff on it. Dawn eyed Buffy's jewelry box, then looked into the hall. Buffy and Angel were both still downstairs. She opened the box and started looking through it, thinking of maybe swiping one of Buffy's necklaces that she liked. But she became distracted by something much more interesting.

She picked up Buffy's engagement ring and looked at it with big eyes. If this was what she thought it was…

"Hey Dawn, are you ready to…Dawn?" Angel walked into the room. Dawn turned around and held up the ring.

"Angel," she said, "Are you and Buffy engaged?"

Angel hesitated. He wasn't sure what to say. Dawn and her mother still had not been told of his and Buffy's engagement. He could say it belonged to someone else, he could try to explain, he could make up a story to explain the ring. In the end, he settled on, "Yes."

"Oh my god!" Dawn shrieked. She hugged him. "This is great!"

"What's going on?" Buffy asked, walking in. Dawn hugged her too, much to Buffy's surprise. "What's going on?" she repeated.

"You're getting married!" Dawn said, holding up the ring. Buffy looked at Angel.

"She found the ring." Angel said, trying not to smile. "Dawn, listen, your mom and Mr. Giles don't know yet, so-"

"Oh, don't worry, I won't tell." Dawn said. Buffy took the ring and put it away.

"Come on. Giles is going to be waiting." She said, and left the room.

Dawn looked at Angel again. "What?" Angel asked.

"You're really part of the family now." Dawn said.

Angel smiled. Dawn had no idea how much that statement meant to him. "Thanks. Buffy's right, we should go."

Dawn sighed. "Right. To the magic shop."

"Hey, it's not that bad. Tell you what: if you promise not to tell Buffy or your mother, I'll buy you a charm or something."

Dawn's eyes lit up. "Like something to make things float in the air?"

"Maybe. Come on."

**0000000ooooooo000000**

They were in Giles's new car. Giles was driving and Buffy was riding shotgun next to him. Angel was behind Buffy and Dawn was behind Giles.

_ "I don't think Buffy's watcher likes me very much. Maybe it's because he's so old. Well, I don't know how old he is, but I heard him use the word newfangled once, so I figure he must be pretty far gone."_

Giles was getting very angry with the car. "I'm fed up with this, it's not working out!"

"Giles, are you breaking up with your car?" Buffy asked, fighting off a grin.

"I really don't know what possessed me to buy it." Giles sighed.

"Buffy look, there's Willow and Tara." Angel said.

"Oh good, they haven't seen my car yet." Giles said, pulling over. Buffy and Angel grinned at each other when he wasn't looking.

"Giles, nice car." Willow said as they stopped.

"Handles like a dream." Giles said. Angel rolled his eyes.

"Hi Willow." Dawn said as she hopped out.

"Hey Dawnie. How's my favorite Chess partner?"

_ "Willow's the best. She's the only person I know who like school as much as I do. And she's got cool friends. Like Tara. She and Willow are witches, which is so much cooler than slaying. Once I told mom I wished Willow and Tara would teach me some of the things they do together. And…and then she got all quiet and told me to go to my room. I guess her generation's not cool with the witchcraft."_

They all headed down the street towards the magic shop. Buffy told Willow about her new training schedule. "So I won't be able to take drama with you." Buffy finished.

"What? But you promised!" Willow cried.

"What happened to the thing about planning?" Buffy asked.

"Well there's the whole best friend loop-hole! Come on, Buffy…"

"Look, Giles said-"

"To hell with Giles!" Willow cried.

"I can hear you, Willow." Giles said.

"Angel, back me up." Willow said.

Angel, who really didn't want to be pulled into this, looked around and said, "Oh, look, we're here." He quickly caught up with Dawn and Tara.

"It's all dark inside." Tara said, peeking through the window.

"That's weird." Angel said, frowning. He opened the door and held it for everyone else to go inside.

"Hello?" Willow called. She stepped forward to look around and tripped over something, falling to the ground.

"Willow!" Tara cried.

"I'm ok." Willow gasped, sitting up. "I just tripped over…oh god." She said. She had tripped over the dead body of the shopkeeper.

"What is it?" Dawn asked, trying to push past Buffy to see.

"Nothing, get back." Buffy said, shoving her back. Dawn got a glimpse of the dead body though. She took a step back.

Angel grabbed her arm gently. "Dawn, wait out here, ok?" he said, pulling her outside the shop.

"Is that guy dead?" Dawn asked, her eyes huge.

Angel sighed. "Yeah. Stay out here, ok?" he went back inside.

Eventually Tara went out to sit with Dawn. Buffy, Angel, Giles, and Willow looked around the shop. "Ok, so it looks like some books were taken." Willow said. "A whole bunch of books about the Slayer."

Angel looked at Buffy. Buffy looked at her book list. "Were those the only copies?" she asked.

Giles took the record book from Willow. "I wonder…good lord." He said.

"What?" Angel asked, walking over.

"Giles, what?" Buffy said when Giles didn't answer Angel.

"I had no idea the prophets from a store like this were so high." Giles said. Angel sighed and kept looking around.

"Hey," he said, "Something's missing from this cabinet."

"What was in there?" Buffy asked Willow, who started looking through the list again.

"It was probably powerful or dangerous. Or both." Angel said.

"Unicorn statue." Willow said. "Twelve dollars."

"Oh." Angel said, surprised.

**0000000ooooooo0000000**

"So not only did you not get Dawn her school supplies," Joyce was saying, "But you took her to see a dead body."

"It's not like we went looking for it." Buffy insisted. "We just sort of found it. And she didn't see the body. Angel took her out of the room. And I've told you how dangerous the magic shop can be, but you wanted me to take her."

"And now you want to get out of watching her tonight so you can go out with Angel." Joyce said.

"To _patrol._" Buffy cried. "It's not like we're going to dinner!"

"Joyce," Angel spoke up from his place in the doorway. "There's something really dangerous out there that we have to stop or people will die. What if we found a babysitter?"

"Yeah." Buffy said.

"Where are you going to find a babysitter on such short notice?" Joyce asked.

"I don't need a babysitter!" Dawn yelled from the other room.

"Yes you do!" Buffy and Joyce yelled together.

"Um…Xander." Buffy said.

"Xander?" Joyce repeated.

Dawn suddenly ran over and appeared next to Angel. "Ok." She said.

_"Xander's so cool. He's cute and super-smart. He even skipped college and became a construction worker. He's really brave too. Like just last week, he went undercover to stop Dracula."_

Dawn opened the door as Xander arrived. "Hey Dawnie." He said. She smiled.

_"He doesn't look down on anyone."_

Suddenly Anya appeared behind Xander. "Hey little girl!" she cried.

_"Even when he should."_

"Ok." Buffy said. "Angel and I are just going to do a patrol and then we'll be back."

"No problem, Buffy." Xander replied. "Go kill bad things."

Buffy nodded. "Bye." She said, and she and Angel left.

**0000000ooooooo0000000**

Angel walked through the graveyard with Buffy. Buffy was ranting. "She's just everywhere and she's always messing up everything. It's like no matter what I do I she's right there behind. It's driving me crazy. And she always gets all the special attention."

"Dawn's not so bad, Buffy. She's keeping our secret about the engagement." Angel pointed out.

"Yes, but have you thought about how she found out in the first place? She was going through my stuff! She never leaves me alone!"

"Well, yeah." Angel said. "You're like her idol, Buffy."

Buffy looked at him in surprise. "Huh?"

"Come on, honey, think about it. You're her older sister. You're in college. You've got super powers, a group of great friends, a sexy creature of the night boyfriend." The last one caused Buffy to giggle.

"I suppose." She said. "But…it's not just that. She's…" she trailed off.

Angel looked at her. "She's what?"

"She's the one who gets all the attention. And I realize how childish that sounds, but it's true. Just once I'd like Mom to hold me instead of her, I'd like to be the one she fusses over. But I'm not. And I know it's always been this way. She's the baby. But lately it's just really getting to me."

Angel stopped walking and turned to face her. "You're no less important. You know that. But you aren't a little kid anymore. Your mom is trying to let you go live your life. Dawn's still a kid. And she's still being treated like one. That's the way of the world. Your mom loves you just as much."

Buffy smiled. "How is it you always know exactly what to say?"

Angel grinned slightly. He kissed her. "And if it makes a difference," he whispered, "Dawn's great and all, but you'll always be my favorite."

"It makes a world of difference." Buffy replied. They kissed again.

**0000000ooooooo0000000**

Buffy stared at Xander for a moment and then burst out laughing. Next to her, Angel started laughing too. "Harmony…Harmony has _minions_?" Buffy gasped through her laughter.

"Yeah, that was pretty much my reaction too." Xander said.

They were back at the Summers house after a very unsuccessful patrol, standing in the kitchen with Xander and Anya. Xander was filling them in on the events of the evening.

Buffy, still laughing, looked at Angel, who was also still laughing. "Harmony has minions!" she exclaimed.

"Yeah." Xander said. "Buff, you might want to stop, it gets less funny."

"Sorry." Buffy said, gasping for breath. "It's just…Harmony…minions…"

"Yeah, well she came over here to kill you." Xander told her.

Buffy and Angel glanced at each other before laughing again. "I-I'm not too worried about Harmony killing me." Buffy said.

"Well, you might want to be, seeing as now she can get into this house whenever she wants." Anya said.

Buffy stopped laughing abruptly. "What?"

"She sort of…got invited." Xander admitted.

Angel frowned. "But neither of you can…" he looked at Buffy and knew they were both thinking the same thing.

"Where is she?" Buffy asked, her voice dangerous.

"In her room." Xander replied nervously. "Buffy, don't be too hard on her. Believe me, no one feels worse than her right now."

"She knows better than this!" Buffy cried, her eyes full of anger.

"Buffy, it was a mistake." Angel said. "Anyone could have done it."

Buffy sighed and grabbed the weapons they had taken on patrol and went to put them away. Xander and Angel followed. "Angel's right, Buffy." Xander said once they were in Buffy's mostly empty room. "It could have happened to anyone. I mean, just last week your mother let Dracula in."

"That…that was different. She didn't know he was a vampire. Dawn knows Harmony. She should have known better than to invite her in." Buffy insisted.

"I'm just saying we should go easy on her." Xander said.

"We're not doing her any favors by going easy on her!" Buffy cried angrily. "All we're doing is turning her into a stupid, spoiled brat who's going to get herself killed."

"Buffy!" Angel said.

Buffy sighed and cradled her head in her hands. "Sorry. You're right, that was out of line. But I work so hard to keep her and Mom safe and she's not making my job any easier!"

Angel was about to respond when he heard something. "Angel?" Buffy asked after seeing the look on his face.

"There's something going on downstairs!" Angel shouted. He raced down the stairs with Buffy and Xander in tow. Anya was lying on the ground in the kitchen and the back door was open.

"Anya!" Xander cried. He and Angel crouched down next to her.

"We should get her to a hospital." Angel said.

"Dawn…" Anya moaned. Buffy whirled around.

"Dawn? What about her?" She asked frantically.

"They…took her." Anya gasped. Buffy looked horrified.

"I have to go find her." She said.

"Go." Angel said. "Xander and I can take care of this."

Buffy left. Xander and Angel moved Anya to the couch in the living room. "I can drive her to the hospital." Xander said.

"Good." Angel said. "I'll stay here in case Joyce gets back before Buffy and Dawn."

"What are you going to do if she comes back?"

"Talk my way out of it."

"Good plan, Deadboy."

"Could you not call me that?"

**0000000ooooooo0000000**

Needless to say, Buffy beat Harmony and her minions (she still smiled whenever she thought about that) easily. Harmony got away, but it didn't matter. Buffy got Dawn and they walked home.

The walk was uncomfortably quiet. Unable to stand the silence any longer, Dawn said, "So…you're marrying Angel."

"Yeah." Buffy said shortly.

"When did he ask you?"

"A few months ago."

"And you still haven't told Mom?"

"We'll get to it!" Buffy cried defensively.

Dawn nodded. "Is that why you're moving in with him?"

A smile flickered across Buffy's face. "Actually, he asked me to move in first. Turns out he was already planning to ask me but hadn't yet. Apparently he chickened out more than once."

Dawn laughed. "Well I think it's great. I like Angel. And he loved you, and you love him. Everybody's happy."

"I'm not sure Mom will be." Buffy admitted. She hadn't said that out loud before.

"Nonsense. I think she's kind of taken to him. She'll be thrilled."

They walked into their kitchen where they found Angel sitting at the table anxiously. "Did everything go ok?" he asked the instant he saw them.

Buffy nodded. "Yeah, we-"

"Shh!" he cried suddenly. The front door opened and Joyce came in.

"Hey guys." She said as she walked in the kitchen. "How was it?"

Buffy and Dawn looked at each other. "Good." Buffy said. "Angel and I killed the evil things and then we watched some cartoons."

"Well, good. But I know at least one of us who should be in bed by now." Joyce said. Dawn frowned but said goodnight and went to bed.

Buffy sat down next to Angel. "I'm tired." She sighed, resting her head on his shoulder. "Can we go home?"

Angel smiled. "Yeah, we can go home." He stood up and picked up Buffy.

"I don't need you to carry me to the car." She said, though her fight lacked its usual stubbornness.

"Oh well." Angel said. "I'll do it anyway. Goodnight, Joyce."

"Goodnight Angel. I'll see you tomorrow, Buffy, love you."

"Love you too Mom, bye." Buffy replied. Angel carried her out of the house.

_ "Buffy probably would have gotten into more trouble than me, but it was nice of her not to tell._

_ Nothing's really changed. Buffy's still Buffy. I'm just her little sister. Everyone thinks I'm no one special. But they're wrong."_

**Please review!**


	3. The Replacement

**Chapter/episode 3: The Replacement. Ha, ha, ha. Should be fun.**

**Sorry this is late.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Buffy the Vampire Slayer.**

Buffy and Angel were hanging out with Xander and Anya in Xander's basement. True, it was a rare occurrence for Angel and Xander to willingly be in the same room unless it was Scooby-related, but Buffy had done some talking to both of them and they were behaving. Actually, Angel hadn't minded Xander as much lately. Oh, he still didn't like him, but now that there was Riley Xander didn't seem so bad anymore.

They were watching a movie. Buffy also had a large book that Giles wanted her to read. The girls were sitting on the floor leaning up against the couch, and the boys were on the couch. Anya's arm was in a sling from the accident at the Summers house.

"So, is anybody hungry?" Xander asked.

"Don't use the hot plate." Anya sighed. "It's broken. We think the cat peed on it."

"I think we're good." Angel replied.

A few minutes later there were sounds from upstairs. "The folks are home." Xander sighed. There was yelling and a crashing sound. "No, my mistake, it's just incompetent burglars."

Buffy clearly wasn't paying attention at all. She was still reading her book. Angel smiled. As much as he loved to see her reading, he knew she should spend some time with her friends, so he nudged her shoulder. "Buffy, you can put the book down."

Buffy sighed. "Yeah. I suppose I can take a break from the violence for some…oh, fighting."

There was more yelling upstairs. "Don't take this the wrong way, Xander," Angel said, "But you really need a new place."

"Yeah." Xander sighed. "I do need a better place. Hey Buff, you've been to hell. They've got one-bedrooms, right?"

**0000000ooooooo0000000**

**The Next Morning**

Buffy and Angel were in the kitchen in the mansion, talking over breakfast. They wanted to tell Giles today about how they were getting married. They had spent a very long time coming up with a plan for a nice way to tell him.

"Right." Buffy was saying. "There will be dinner and tea and I've planned out exactly what we're going to say and we'll make sure there aren't any wooden stakes around."

"I don't really think Giles would try to kill me." Angel said. "Would he?"

"Probably not, but we can't be too careful." Buffy said. "But we don't have to worry about all this until later. Right now we're supposed to meet the others to go with Xander to check out an apartment."

"Yeah, I remember. He really does need one. That basement is just sad."

"Do you possibly feel _sorry_ for him?" Buffy cried teasingly. "What is happening to the world?"

Angel rolled his eyes. "I guess you're rubbing off on me. Come on, we're going to be late."

**0000000ooooooo0000000**

Xander, Anya, Buffy, Angel, Willow, and Riley were walking down the hall of an apartment building to look at an apartment for Xander. "Just think," Willow said excitedly, "If you buy this place, we'll walk down this hall going '_La la la, I'm going to Xander's house'_."

"Just so you know Xander, I probably won't be doing that." Buffy said.

"Just so you know, I probably will." Riley said, causing laughter from the others.

They went inside the apartment. "Xander, this is nice." Buffy said, looking around.

"Mr. Harris?" a woman, most likely the landlord, said to Riley.

"Um, I'm not Mr. Harris." Riley said.

"I am." Xander said quickly. He wiped his hand off and shook the woman's hand. "These are my friends. They won't be here all the time."

"But we're quiet." Willow said quickly. Buffy and Angel nodded.

The visit quickly went downhill. There were problems with paper work and money and then Xander and Anya started fighting and by the time they left to meet Giles Xander seemed sure he would never get the place. Anya, who was still angry with Xander, just went home.

Giles had bought the magic shop. The others though this was a horrible idea and had tried to talk him out of it but he had made up his mind. It hadn't opened yet but Giles was working on it. This was where they were meeting him. When they got there, they learned that Giles had been attacked by a demon.

"…and then I hit him, like this." Giles demonstrated hitting the demon.

Angel looked at what he was holding. "You hit him with a fertility god?"

"Yes."

"Clever."

"So did you win the fight?" Riley asked.

"Well…he did leave."

"Did you beat him up?" Angel asked.

"Did he flee?" Buffy added.

"Um…no. He walked. While smashing things."

"Oh." Buffy sighed.

"But he mentioned Buffy." Willow said. Angel glanced at Buffy and then back at Giles.

"Yes, he did."

"We have to find this guy." Angel said.

"I agree." Giles said. "I'm afraid dinner is probably off for tonight."

Angel and Buffy glanced at each other. "That's too bad." Angel said slowly. "We kind of have something to talk to you about."

Buffy sighed. She was really getting tired of this. "Giles, Angel and I are engaged."

Giles dropped his fertility god in surprise. Angel looked at Buffy. "Why did you…but what about the dinner and the tea and the…we spent hours coming up with that plan!" he cried. Willow, Xander, and Riley all glanced at each other and then turned back to the scene in front of them.

"Well." Giles said, clearly taken by surprise. He took his glasses off and started to clean them. "This is a surprise. Though I suppose it's not really unexpected." He smiled at Buffy. "Congratulations."

Buffy smiled back. "Thanks Giles." She got up and hugged him. After she had sat back down, Giles turned to Angel while the others were talking.

"I'm happy for you." He said. "But if you hurt her, I will kill you."

"I won't hurt her." Angel said.

Giles smiled. "I know."

**0000000ooooooo0000000**

They had all gone to the dump, trying to find the demon, Toth. "It's around here somewhere." Angel said.

There was a noise, and they all whirled around. It wasn't Toth. "Spike." Angel sighed. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, the nice lady vampire in the next junk heap is having tea." Spike said sarcastically. "What do you think I'm doing? I'm searching for stuff."

"That's a nice lamp." Willow said, looking at the lamp he was holding.

"Maybe you can help us." Buffy said. "We're looking for a demon. Ugly."

"Like that on behind you?" Spike asked.

Everyone turned again and saw a demon that they knew had to be Toth. "Huh." Angel said. "His teeth glow."

Toth raised his strange-looking weapon. "Scatter!" Buffy shouted, and they ran in different directions.

"I don't know what the stick thing does," Willow yelled, "But I would recommend not being hit by it!"

"Great advice, Willow!" Riley yelled back.

Angel was knocked over and fell into a pile of garbage. He saw Buffy. She was seconds away from being hit, and he would never get to her in time. At the last second, Xander pushed her out of the way. He was blasted by the stick and went flying back into the garbage heap. Toth ran away.

Angel got up and ran over to the others. "Are you ok?" he asked Buffy.

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine. Xander?"

Angel and Riley helped Xander up. "That had to hurt." Riley said, and Xander nodded.

"How do you feel?" Angel asked.

"Like I was thrown really hard into a garbage pile."

Angel nodded. "Somehow, I'm not surprised.

**0000000ooooooo0000000**

**The Next Day**

Buffy and Angel trudged into Giles's apartment and collapsed onto the couch. Giles hurried in from the kitchen. "Did you find anything?"

Buffy shook her head. "No. We searched all day and didn't find a thing. I'm exhausted."

"Me too." Angel sighed. "And she's right, there's no sign of him."

"I've been researching and haven't found much." Giles said.

Xander walked in. Angel looked at him. "You're dressed oddly nice. What's up?"

"I got promoted. And I got that apartment we looked at yesterday." Xander said.

"Good for you." Buffy said. "How are you feeling? Any after-effects of being hit by Toth's…weapon-thingy?"

"Well actually that's why I'm here." Xander said. "Something weird happened. I was leaving my apartment and I ran into _me_."

Buffy, Angel, and Giles stared at him. "You ran into a mirror?" Angel guessed.

"No!" Xander yelled. "I ran into a double of myself."

"A double?" Giles repeated, picking up one of his books.

"Toth." Buffy said. "It must be him."

"That must be what the stick did." Giles said. "It allows Toth to become the person it hits."

"Yes! That must be it!" Xander said.

"Don't worry Xander." Buffy said. "We'll find this guy."

"He looked _exactly _like me." Xander said. "Everything was the same." He looked at his watch. "Oh, can I go? I promised Anya I'd meet her at my new place."

"Yeah, go." Buffy said. "It probably a good idea if you're not there when I'm fighting this guy. It might get confusing. I don't want to kill the wrong you."

Angel heard a noise outside as Xander was leaving. He followed Xander to the door and looked outside. Xander gave him a strange look. "What?"

"I thought I heard something." Angel said. "But there's nothing here. Never mind." He went back inside.

A while later, Buffy and Angel were planning to go out again to find Toth when Willow came bursting in. "Guys, Toth looks like Xander!" she shouted.

"We know." Angel replied.

"We talked to Xander." Buffy told her.

"No, you guys had the fake Xander." Willow said hurriedly. They all looked at her. "The real Xander came to me."

"No way." Buffy said, looking at Angel.

Angel frowned. "Our Xander…he did seem a little different." He said. Buffy though about it for a moment, and then nodded. Angel went on, "But the thing is, he didn't smell any different. Usually imposters will have at least a slightly different scent, but I couldn't tell he wasn't Xander."

"Maybe that's part of the magic." Willow suggested.

"Oh dear lord." Giles said, looking in a book.

"So we need to track down the Xander that was here." Angel said. "He was going to his new apartment."

"The real Xander was going to find him." Willow said.

"Well we know where to start, anyway." Buffy said.

"I said, oh dear lord." Giles repeated, walking over to them.

"Yeah, but you always say that." Buffy told him.

"It's always important!" Giles cried. "I found the spell. They're both Xander."

The others looked at each other. "Huh?" they said together.

"They're both Xander." Giles repeated. "The spell splits a person's traits into two bodies. One gets all of the strengths, the other all the weaknesses. He wanted to use it on Buffy."

"Why?" Willow asked.

"To separate the Slayer from the person." Giles replied. "One body would get all of the traits that make up the Slayer, the strength, the speed, those things. The other would have the traits of Buffy Summers, with no Slayer powers."

"But wouldn't that be worse for him?" Angel asked. "I mean, someone with just Slayer traits? It'd be like a super-slayer."

"Yes, but if you kill one form they both die." Giles said. "So if he got to the weaker Buffy…"

"Slayer Buffy would die too." Buffy said quietly. Angel put his arm around her.

"Oh my god, Xander!" Willow shrieked. "They'll try to kill each other!"

"We can stop them." Buffy said. "Find a way to reverse the spell. Angel and I will go stop the Xanders from killing each other."

Giles and Willow agreed, so Buffy and Angel set off. "If Xander kills himself," Buffy said as she got into Angel's car, "He's dead. Well, obviously but…you know what I meant."

"Yeah, I know." Angel said, smiling slightly. "Let's go."

**0000000ooooooo0000000**

Buffy and Angel burst into Xander's apartment to find one Xander pointing a gun at the other Xander. Anya was standing to the side, looking very alarmed and confused. "He's got my gun." She said so Buffy.

"Xander give me the gun." Buffy said.

"But-"

"Now!" Buffy yelled. He handed her the gun. She gave it to Angel and then slammed both Xanders into the counter. "Now listen. You're both Xander."

"What?" the Xanders asked together.

"What?" Anya cried.

Buffy was trying to explain when Toth suddenly burst in the door. Angel put the gun down and attacked him with Buffy by his side. There was yelling from the other side of the room.

Toth put up a good fight, but after a few minutes Buffy got him. Angel sighed in relief and looked at her. Then he looked at the two Xanders and then back at her. "This is so weird." He said.

"Tell me about it." Buffy agreed.

**00000000ooooooo0000000**

Xander and Xander walked into the magic shop, now wearing the same clothes. They were indeed completely identical. Willow and Buffy were admiring the exact similarities. Angel said, "You own two of the same outfit?"

Buffy giggled. The Xander on the right rolled his eyes.

"Do we have to change them back right away?" Anya asked. "Maybe I can take the boys home, and then we can all have sex and you can slap them together in the morning!"

Everybody stared at her. The Xander on the left laughed. The Xander on the right, however, said, "She's serious! She wants to have sex with both of us at the same time! That would be so wrong…and confusing."

"So what do we do if it doesn't work?" Buffy asked.

"Kill us both, Spock!" the Xanders said together. Then they looked at each other and laughed.

"They're kind of the same now." Buffy said.

"Yes, he's clearly a bad influence on himself." Giles sighed.

"Alright, Xander…s." Willow said. "Get in the middle of the circle."

They did. "So how does this work, Will?" Xander #1 asked.

"It's pretty simple. Your natural state is to be together. The only thing keeping you apart is the spell. So I just have to break the spell."

"Oh." Xander #2 said. "Ok."

"Close your eyes." Willow instructed. They did. She closed her own eyes. "Let the spell be ended."

"Oh, come on Will, there's no way that's going to…oh." Xander said as he opened his eyes and realized there was only one of him.

"I liked him the other way." Anya said. "Put him back."

Angel sighed and turned to Buffy. "This has been exhausting." He said. "Let's go home."

"That sounds fantastic." Buffy agreed.

**It's kind of confusing writing for two Xanders. I had to come up with different ways to tell them apart. I know I didn't do too much to change this one, but hey, Giles knows now! And the next one is Out of My Mind, which should be much more entertaining. Please review! **


	4. Out of My Mind

**Chapter/episode 4: Out of My Mind. Riley suffers in this chapter. He suffers quite a bit. This is not an entirely bad thing. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Buffy.**

Buffy was patrolling. She was currently in a fight with a vampire. Nothing unusual about this, of course. She was about to throw another punch when something slammed the vampire against the wall. "Riley?" Buffy shouted and Riley staked the vampire. "What are you doing here?"

"I thought you were in the north sector." Riley said.

"No, _Angel_ is in the north sector. You weren't scheduled at all tonight." Buffy said, annoyed.

"Look out!" Riley yelled suddenly. Another vampire was running over. Buffy looked and saw Angel a short distance away, chasing him. Suddenly Spike jumped out of nowhere and attacked the vampire.

"Why do I even bother to show up?" Buffy cried.

Spike staked the vamp. "Spike!" Angel yelled as he stopped with them. "That was my vampire! He annoyed me and I was looking forward to staking him."

Buffy grinned. "I thought you were in the north sector."

"I was. This guy rose up there, and we fought for a while and he decided he couldn't win and started running away. So I ran after him."

Spike sighed. "Yes, well sorry I saved all of you." He said sarcastically.

"We had it under control." Angel snapped at him.

"I think patrol is over for tonight." Buffy said loudly. "Spike, go away. Riley, go home."

"I think I'll stay out a while longer." Riley said.

"You'll be alright by yourself?" Buffy asked, looking concerned.

"Of course." Riley said, like it was stupid to doubt that he would be ok.

"Ok, see you tomorrow." Buffy said. She and Angel started off back to the mansion.

"Let the commando chase his vamps." Angel said to Buffy as they left the cemetery. "I've got something much more fun in mind…"

Buffy giggled.

**The Next Day**

Angel and Buffy walked into the Magic Box. It still wasn't open yet, but they were almost done. Willow was admiring some stuff for spells, Xander was working on a shelf he was building for Giles, and Riley and Giles were talking.

"The place looks good." Angel said, looking around. "I'm still not sure this was a good idea though, Giles. The life expectancy of a magic shop owner in Sunnydale is about two months."

"Nonsense, I'm sure everything will be fine." Giles said. He turned to Buffy. "Ready for training?"

"You betcha." Buffy said cheerfully. Giles led her to the back room with Riley in tow. Angel turned to Xander, who was hurrying after them.

"Wait until you see it." Xander said to Angel. "She's going to love it."

They all went into the back room. Buffy gasped. They had turned it into a training room. "Oh my god, this is amazing." She walked through the room, looking around.

"I'm the dummy guy." Xander said, joining her. They all stared at him. "I mean, I built the dummy. The thing you hit that doesn't hit back."

"It's great." Buffy said. She looked at Angel and saw he was smirking. "You knew about this, didn't you?" she said.

"Yeah." Angel admitted. "They told me they were building it to surprise you. I'm glad you like it."

"Come on, Buffy." Riley said, jumping forward. "Think you can take me?"

Buffy laughed. "Yes, but later. Angel first." She turned back to Angel. "Think you can take me?" she echoed.

Angel grinned. "Bring it on."

"Oh!" Xander said. "Willow, Buffy and Angel are going to spar!"

"Don't start without me!" Willow yelled, running into the room.

The others enjoyed watching Buffy and Angel spar. It was quite entertaining, because they were both excellent and they knew each other so well. It could be a very impressive sight.

A minute later, Buffy and Angel faced each other. "Your move." Angel said.

Buffy lunged forward. Angel did a spinning kick and Buffy jumped over his leg and swept his feet out from underneath him. He fell, kicked Buffy so she went stumbling backwards, and jumped back to his feet. What followed was a complex series of punches and kicks that the others, even Riley, could barely follow. Finally Buffy jumped into the air and used him as a brace to actually fly over his head and land on her feet behind him. Angel whirled around and pushed her back. She went flying backward towards the wall, but with the grace only a Slayer had stuck her feet out and jumped off the wall without touching the ground. She crashed into Angel, and they both fell to the ground. Buffy pinned him down pretended to be holding a stack. She rested her fist over his heart. "I win."

**0000000ooooooo0000000**

**The Next Morning**

Buffy opened her eyes and rolled over in bed. Angel was still asleep, his arms wrapped around her. She smiled, content to stay there in his arms forever. She closed her eyes again and snuggled closer to him. She heard him sigh and pull her closer. "Morning." He whispered.

"No, go back to sleep. My excuse for not getting up was that if I moved, I would wake you." Buffy said, not opening her eyes.

"Well you still don't have to get up." Angel replied. He kissed her.

She finally opened her eyes again. "I suppose you're right." She said. She rested her head on his shoulder. "Do we have anything to do today?"

"You have training, and I'm going with you to the Magic Box because I said I'd help Giles setting it up for opening." Angel said. "That's not until late afternoon, though. I don't know what we're doing with the rest of the day."

"Maybe we should go see Mom and Dawn." Buffy said. "I did promise I'd visit more this year, and it's been a while already."

"Yeah, we could do that." Angel said. "Is this nearing the topic of telling her we're getting married?"

"Getting close, yes." Buffy replied. "I mean, the only person we know who doesn't know we're getting married is my own mother. It seems like she should know." She sighed. "But…I am nervous. She never really loved the idea of you and me in the first place. I think she always hoped I would get over you, maybe fall for Riley. Although Dawn seems to think that she's taken a liking to you."

"Yeah, I'm not too excited about that conversation either." Angel admitted. "I have no problem with putting it off."

Buffy rolled over and looked at him, and grin forming on her face. "Angel, are you afraid of my mother?"

"_No!_" Angel cried. "I'm not afraid of her! But I don't see the conversation going very well."

"Why not?" Buffy asked curiously.

Angel looked uncomfortable. He had avoided talking about this…but she deserved to know… "There's something I never told you…about when I almost left."

He felt Buffy stiffen. "What?"

"Your mom came to talk to me shortly before I told you I was leaving. She told me she wanted me to go."

"_What?_" Buffy cried, the anger in her voice unmistakable. "She did what? She tried to kick you out of my life? What gives her the right-"

"She was worried about you." Angel interrupted. "I don't want you to be angry with her. I understand her concern for her daughter dating a vampire. It was just because she loves you. But it does give me the impression that she was probably a little unhappy that I decided to stay."

"Well she's just going to have to deal with it." Buffy said firmly. "Because nobody is talking me out of marrying you, so there."

Angel smiled. "That's fine with me. But maybe we should talk about something else now."

"Um…I was reading one of the books Giles gave me the other day, and I found this story about a group of slime demons that attacked a town ate everyone, and they oozed this snot-like slime from their-"

"This is horrible pillow talk." Angel said, making a face. "Got anything else?"

"Well…there's one thing, but you won't like it."

"Can't be worse than the last one."

"I'm worried about Riley."

"So snot demons, you say?"

Buffy grinned. "I told you so." She sat up. "I'm starving. We should have breakfast."

"Does this involve getting up?"

"Yes."

"Then I'm against it."

Buffy smiled playfully. "You're not too sore or anything, are you? Cause I totally kicked your butt yesterday."

Angel scoffed at her. "Please. You got lucky."

Still smiling, she leaned over him. "Are you suggesting we have a rematch this afternoon?"

"Maybe." Angel replied. Suddenly he grabbed her and they rolled off the bed onto the floor.

"Angel!" Buffy cried, laughing.

"Now we're up." Angel said. Buffy shook her head and stood up. Angel got up a few moments later to see her putting his shirt on. "Hey!"

"I thought you liked it when I wore your shirts." Buffy teased.

"I do, but I was planning to actually wear that one."

"Oh well." Buffy shrugged. "I'm only wearing it until after breakfast anyway, so don't worry."

Angel sighed and put on a different shirt. "You want eggs?"

"Sure." Buffy said brightly. They headed downstairs to the kitchen when the phone rang. "I'll get it." Buffy said. She picked up the phone. "Hello?"

Angel smiled and started getting ready for breakfast until he heard her say, "What? When?" in a panicked voice. His smile faded into a frown and he walked over to see her clutching the phone to her ear, looking terrified. "Ok, we'll be there as soon as we can." She said, her voice still higher than usual. "Yeah, I'll see you there." She hung up and ran her hands through her hair.

"Buffy?" Angel asked, concerned.

"W-we need to get dressed, right now." Buffy stammered. "We have to g-go to the hospital." She tried to move past Angel but he stopped her.

"Buffy, what happened?" he asked seriously.

Buffy started breathing heavily, like she was trying not to cry and was having a hard time staying calm. "That was Dawn. Mom was making breakfast this morning and she just passed out. Dawn called 911 and they're at the hospital now. We have to go right now." She drew a shuddered breath. "Right now, we have to go right now!"

Angel hugged her tightly. "It's alright, we'll go. Don't worry, it's going to be fine." He rubbed her back comfortingly. "Go get dressed, we'll leave right away."

Buffy nodded, blinking back tears. "Yeah, I'll go. Angel…"

Angel kissed her. "She'll be fine."

**0000000ooooooo0000000**

Angel drove Buffy to the hospital, and they rushed in to find Dawn, who was waiting. "Dawn!" Buffy cried, hurrying over. Dawn hugged her. "How is she?"

"Your mother's fine." A young doctor walked over to them. "I'm Ben, I'm an intern here."

"He gave me a stethoscope." Dawn said, holding it up.

"I let you _borrow _a stethoscope." Ben corrected, smiling. "I've been hanging out with Doctor Dawn here while they've been doing tests on your mother."

"What happened?" a voice behind them said. Buffy and Angel turned around.

"Riley." Buffy said, sounding surprised.

"What are you doing here?" Angel asked, irritated. This was serious, no time for the commando to be hanging around.

"I heard." Riley said shortly, glaring at Angel.

"It's fine." Buffy said to Angel before turning back to Ben. "So what's wrong?"

"She seems fine, they're still trying to determine what happened." Ben told them.

As Ben explained what was going on, Dawn started playing with the stethoscope again. She listened to Ben's heart, then Buffy's. Next she turned to Angel, but he grabbed her hand before she could listen. "Vampire, remember Dawnie?" he whispered quietly so Ben wouldn't hear. "I don't have one."

Dawn nodded and moved on the Riley. There was something weird about this one though…

"So your mom should be out fairly soon." Ben finished.

Buffy turned to Angel. "We have to tell her!"

Angel looked at her, surprised. "Er…tell who what?"

"Tell Mom that we're engaged!" Buffy cried. Angel, who clearly had not been thinking about their wedding at all, seemed caught off guard. "I mean, what if it had been something worse and she died without ever knowing?"

Before Angel could respond, Dawn said, "Ben, listen to Riley's heartbeat."

Everyone looked at her. Dawn handed the stethoscope to Ben, who took it and listened. His eyes grew wide. "What?" Buffy asked.

"Oh my god." Ben said.

"What?" Riley asked, confused.

Ben looked at Riley. "Would you allow me to run some tests?"

Riley nodded. "Ok, but would you tell me why?"

"There's something wrong with your heart."

**0000000ooooooo0000000**

They had finished the tests on Riley. "You said you couldn't keep me here." Riley said.

"I can't." the doctor said. "But I would get down on my knees and beg you if I thought it would change your mind."

"It won't." Riley said. "I'm leaving."

"There's nothing your friends can say to make you stay?"

Angel really wanted to point out that he was not Riley's friend, but this didn't seem the time. Buffy looked worried. "Riley, you're going to have a heart attack." She said. "You know how many drugs they pumped into you at the Initiative."

"I'm fine Buffy, I can handle it." Riley said.

"Nobody can handle a heart attack, Riley." Buffy insisted. But Riley wouldn't listen.

The door opened and Dawn and Joyce appeared. "The doctors say I can go know." Joyce said.

"How do you feel?" Angel asked.

"Embarrassed, mostly." Joyce said.

"I'll see you later Buffy." Riley said. He walked out past Joyce and Dawn.

"Riley!" Buffy called, but he ignored her.

"Is Riley ok?" Joyce asked, frowning.

"No." Buffy sighed. "Come on, Angel and I will take you guys home." They started down the hall.

Buffy looked at her mom and thought about what she had said earlier in the waiting room. "Mom?"

Joyce looked at her. "Yes sweetie?"

"I have to tell you something." Buffy said. Dawn gave her an encouraging nod. Buffy caught Angel's eye before saying, "Angel and I are getting married."

Joyce stopped walking, as did the others. Buffy and Angel looked at each other anxiously. "Oh." Joyce said. She seemed to be quite shocked. "This is…sudden."

"No it isn't." Dawn said. Buffy put her hand over her sisters' mouth.

"Well…congratulations, Buffy." Joyce said. She hugged Buffy. Angel looked uneasy. Joyce pulled away from Buffy and started walking again.

"I think that went well." Dawn said.

"Oh, shut up." Buffy said. She turned to Angel. "Go talk to her."

Angel nodded and caught up to Joyce. "Joyce?"

"Angel."

"I know you never liked the idea of me and Buffy. I can understand why. But I just want you to know that I love her more than anything in the world, and I would do anything to keep her safe and happy."

After a few moments, Joyce said, "I know. And I know she's lucky to have found someone who loves her as much as you do. I just…I never wanted her to be with a vampire. I wanted her to at least try to have a normal life. But…" she looked at Angel. "I tried to get you to leave. That was wrong. I saw how torn up she was after you broke up with her and planned to leave. I judged you by what you are, something I never should have done. She loves you, and she's happy with you." Joyce smiled. "I'm glad you're marrying her. I think you'll both be very happy. Welcome to the family."

Angel smiled. "Thank you."

Buffy and Dawn approached cautiously. Joyce turned to Buffy. "I'm so happy for you." She said, and hugged Buffy again. Dawn gave Angel a thumbs up.

Angel smiled again. "Come on, let's get you home."

They went outside and headed to the car. "Do you guys have any wedding plans?" Joyce asked.

Buffy and Angel looked at each other. "Well…no." Buffy admitted. "We haven't talked much about it."

"Well you have to have a wedding." Joyce said. "I'm not going to let you just elope, if that's what you were thinking."

"Of course we weren't." Angel said.

"We weren't?" Buffy asked.

"Of course not. You deserve a white dress and wedding music." Angel said, smiling. "I want to give you something normal."

Buffy smiled. "Really?"

"Definitely. It won't be a big wedding, but hey, it's better than nothing."

"Sounds perfect."

**0000000ooooooo0000000**

Buffy and Angel were in the tunnels of the Initiative, looking for Riley. They hadn't gotten any help from Spike. They had to find Riley and get him to the doctor before he had a heart attack. "You go that way," Buffy said, "I'll look over here."

"Sounds good." Angel said. Buffy had begged Angel to help, and he wasn't about to say no when it was that important to her. They split up.

Buffy turned a corner and found Riley. "Riley Finn, what the hell are you doing here?"

"Hiding from you." Riley replied honestly. "I don't want to see the surgeon."

"You have to." Buffy insisted. "Riley, we're all worried. I'm worried. I care about you-"

"No you don't." Riley interrupted. "You don't care about me. I love you, Buffy. I loved you the first time I met you, and the worst pain I've ever felt is the pain I face every day when I see you with him. Every day I see how much you love him, and I know that you'll never feel that way for me. I can't lose this strength, Buffy. The thing that gets me through my life is the idea that maybe one day you'll have feelings for me, and your type is the kind of guy that can be like you. I need the strength I have."

Buffy stared at him. "Angel was right." She said. "You're an idiot." Riley looked at her in surprise. "You actually think I'm in love with Angel because he's a vampire and can fight stuff? If that was the reason, I might as well be dating Spike. I'm in love with Angel for who he is. And you're right, I'm not in love with you, but I'm not going to fall for you because you can fight like me. But I do care about you because you are my friend, and I will drag you to that doctor unconscious if I have to!"

Riley looked at her. "Alright. Take me to him."

**0000000ooooooo0000000**

Buffy and Angel led Riley into the room where they were supposed to meet the surgeon. "Oh no." Angel said.

"Graham." Riley leaned down to where Graham was lying on the floor. He held up two fingers. "How many fingers am I holding up?"

"Seventeen." Graham said.

"Uh oh." Riley mumbled nervously.

"_Hostile _Seventeen." Graham clarified. "Him and some blond woman."

Buffy and Angel looked at each other. "Spike and Harmony." Buffy said.

"Together again." Angel finished.

"They took the surgeon." Graham gasped, standing up.

"Oh no." Angel groaned. "I'll bet you anything Spike wants him to take the chip out."

Riley groaned suddenly and leaned over. "Riley?" Buffy asked. She looked at Angel. "We have to find them. Now."

"I can find them." Angel said.

"Really?" Riley asked, recovering.

"Yeah, I can find Spike easy." Angel said. "Not my favorite skill, but it can come in handy."

"Let's go." Buffy said, leading them out of the room. "When I get my hands on Spike…"

**0000000ooooooo0000000**

"No more chip." Spike said to himself. He vamped out. "I'm feeling kind of hungry." He looked at the surgeon.

"Not gonna happen, Spike." Buffy said. Spike and Harmony turned to see Buffy, Angel, and Riley.

"How you gonna stop me, Slayer?" Spike taunted.

"I was thinking massive violence." Buffy said.

"That's my girl." Angel said.

Harmony suddenly shot Riley in the leg with an arrow from her crossbow. They all stared. "Oops." She said.

The fight broke out. Angel and Riley went for Harmony, and Buffy and Spike went at it. Angel would have helped Buffy, but he knew better than Spike. There was no way the surgeon got that chip out. Buffy had it covered.

Spike's yell of pain confirmed Angel's suspicion. Angel punched Harmony, knocking her to the floor. "You know, you suck at fighting." Angel said. "No wonder Buffy laughs when she thinks of you trying to kill her."

Harmony took one more look at Angel and ran away. Spike went after her. Riley fell to the ground.

"Riley!" Buffy yelled. "Doctor!"

**0000000ooooooo0000000**

Buffy and Angel walked into the Summers house to check on Joyce. She was watching TV in the living room. "How's Riley?" she asked.

"He's fine. The surgery went really well." Buffy said.

"Thank god." Joyce said. "Sit down, stay a while."

"Ok." Buffy sighed. She and Angel sat down with her on the couch.

"So do you guys know when you want to get married?" Joyce asked.

"We haven't thought about it yet." Buffy admitted. "It's been hectic and only so many people knew…"

"We should start thinking about it, I suppose." Angel said.

"Yeah." Buffy agreed. Joyce said she'd be right back and left the room. "Mom seems excited." Buffy said. "Maybe Dawn was right. She does like you."

"I'm so glad." Angel said. They kissed.

**I love this chapter. You have sparring and fluff and Riley suffered and Joyce know about the wedding now. It was great. Please review!**


	5. No Place Like Home

**Chapter/episode 5: There's No Place Like Home. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Buffy the Vampire Slayer**

Angel was the first to arrive at the meeting point he and Buffy had set up. They had split up for patrol again that night. Angel had done his sweeps, killed some vamps, nothing too special. Although one of the vamps had blue hair. You didn't see that every day.

Buffy was late. This wasn't too unusual for a patrol of course. The vampires didn't attack based on your schedule. He knew she was fine. But he worried anyway. He always worried about her.

Finally she came running toward him. "Sorry I'm late." She said when she reached him.

"No problem." Angel replied. He gave her a kiss and then said, "What kept you?"

"A big vampire. Oh, and I found this." She held up a glowing ball.

"What is it?" Angel asked curiously.

"Don't know. I was hoping you could tell me." Buffy said.

Angel shook his head. "Sorry, I've never seen anything like it. Where did you find it?"

"By that old empty building across town. I staked the vamp there. I would have found it at all if the security guard that found me hadn't given it to me as I left. He though it was something I dropped. We'll bring it to Giles tomorrow." Buffy sighed. "Let's go home. I want to get up early tomorrow and see my mom before we go to Giles."

"Sounds good." Angel replied. He put his arm around her and they walked back to the mansion.

**The Next Morning**

Buffy had made her mother breakfast (with occasional help from Angel) and was just finishing up when Dawn came in. "Hey guys. What are you doing?"

"I made mom a nice, non-instant breakfast. Don't touch it!" she added quickly as Dawn reached for it. "I don't need you ruining it."

"I'm not going to ruin it." Dawn insisted. She tried to add another flower, and knocked the vase over. "Oops."

Angel darted forward, caught it, and put it back. Buffy sighed in relief. "Thanks honey."

"What's all this?" Joyce walked in and sat down. "You made me breakfast?"

"Buffy helped." Dawn said innocently. Buffy looked hurt. Angel gave a loud false cough and gave Dawn a look. She sighed. "Ok, Buffy did it. I just knocked the vase over."

"Oh, I'm sure you all helped." Joyce said. Buffy rolled her eyes. Angel patted her on the back sympathetically.

"Wait a minute, what are you two doing here?" Joyce asked, looking at Buffy and Angel.

"We just wanted to make sure you were ok before heading over to the Magic Box." Buffy said.

"I'm fine." Joyce insisted. "You should go. Isn't today Giles's big day?"

"Yep." Buffy replied.

"The opening of the Magic Box." Angel sighed. "Should be exciting. Hopefully in the successful business kind of way, not the demon attack kind of way."

"You worry too much." Buffy scolded him. "Giles has got it covered. And anyway, he's got us to kick some demon butt if we have to."

"Go." Joyce said. "I'll be fine. I've got Dawn."

"Just take it easy, alright?" Buffy said. "Come on, Dawn."

"But you said I couldn't come." Dawn said.

"I changed my mind." Buffy grabbed her arm and pulled her down the hall. Angel smiled to himself, said goodbye to Joyce, and ran after them.

**0000000ooooooo0000000**

Angel pulled the car up in front of the Magic Box. Buffy jumped out immediately and ran inside. Angel sighed and turned to Dawn in the back. "Ready?"

"She doesn't want me to go in." Dawn said quietly.

"Sure she does. Come on, let's go." Angel said. He got out of the car and walked inside. It was impressive. He was looking around when he saw Buffy and Giles and stopped short.

Giles was wearing a wizard costume. He was standing in the middle of the room, smiling at Buffy. Buffy was staring back. Angel watched them for a minute. Finally Giles sighed and took the costume off. Buffy nodded, satisfied. Angel laughed. Dawn finally came in behind them.

"Cool." She said, admiring the shop. "So when is it open to, like, people?"

Buffy glared at her. Giles sighed. "9:00 this morning. But no matter; they'll come eventually."

"Yeah." Angel agreed optimistically. "It's only been a couple of hours. You have to-"

"If you say, 'look on the bright side', I'm going to have a heart attack." Buffy told him. "It's so weird, you being positive."

Angel rolled his eyes at her. Willow came in, followed by Riley. "Giles!" Willow cried. "Where's your hat?"

"How are you, Riley?" Buffy asked.

"I'm doing ok." Riley replied.

"I'm going to look around." Dawn told Buffy.

"If you break it," Buffy began.

"You buy it." Dawn finished. "I heard you the first fifty times." She walked off.

"And now, to Slayer business." Buffy said. She pulled out the glowing ball she had found the night before.

"Ooh." Willow said. "What is it?"

"We don't know." Buffy said.

"It appears to be paranormal in origin." Giles said.

"How can you tell?" Willow asked curiously.

"Well it's so shiny." Giles replied.

"Buffy found it on patrol last night." Angel said. "We don't know where it came from."

Buffy told them where she found it. "We should patrol over there some more." Riley said. "I can go tonight."

"Um, maybe Angel and I should take care of that." Buffy said quickly. "You should wait a little while."

"Buffy, I feel great." Riley insisted.

"She said it would be easier if she didn't have to watch out for anyone on patrol." Dawn said.

Buffy glared at her. "But I wasn't talking about Riley."

"Yes you were."

"Dawn!" Buffy yelled. "We're going!" she turned to Willow and Giles. "Can you guys start researching it? I'm going to take Dawn home, I'll be back later."

"Of course." Willow said, taking the ball from Buffy.

"Come on, Dawn!" Buffy said loudly, turning to leave.

"Buffy," Angel said as he followed her out of the shop. "Go easy on her."

"She's just so annoying." Buffy sighed in frustration. "She's always messing with everything. And she always gets all the attention for it. I mean, I want to be the one with cute nicknames for once."

Angel gave her his customary half-smile. "Nicknames, huh?"

Buffy just shook her head. "You just have no idea how much I wish I was an only child these days." She sighed, and got into the car.

Dawn came up behind Angel. He turned to her, and whispered into her ear so Buffy wouldn't hear, "Good job with the Riley thing. Wiped the smile off his face."

Dawn grinned and got in the car.

**0000000ooooooo0000000**

They walked into the house. "Mom?" Buffy called. She looked around. "Mom!" all three of them ran into the living room where Joyce was lying on the couch, groaning a little in pain.

"Joyce, what happened?" Angel asked. "Are you ok?"

"My head." Joyce gasped. "I'm fine, I just need my prescription."

Buffy grabbed the piece of paper off the table. "I'll get it for you. Angel, can you stay here and keep an eye on…well, both of them?"

"Of course." Angel nodded. Buffy left.

"Dawn, can you get your mom some water?" Angel asked. Dawn nodded and ran into the other room.

"Thanks Angel." Joyce said, sitting up. "So," she said, "have you and Buffy talked about-"

"No, no, no." Angel interrupted, shaking his head. "This is not about me and Buffy. This is about you."

"And _I_ want to know if you and Buffy have thought about your wedding at all."

"I walked right into that one, didn't I?" Angel grumbled. "No, we haven't decided anything yet."

"You guys have been engaged for months." Dawn said, walking back into the room with a glass of water, which she handed to Joyce.

"We've been busy!"

"You know we're just going to keep asking." Dawn pointed out.

"Yeah, you're not alone there. Willow and Tara have been asking too, and even Xander and Anya are starting to (I think Willow talked them into it)." Angel sighed.

A little while later, Buffy came back with the prescription. Her eyes were big, though. "We have to go back to Giles." She told Angel. "I think I've figured something out."

**0000000ooooooo0000000**

Buffy and Angel went back to the Magic Box. This time, however, it was packed. Buffy went straight up to Giles, Willow, and Anya. "Buffy," Giles began, but Buffy cut him off.

"I know what's making my mother sick."

"You talked to her doctors?" Giles asked.

"No, and they won't find anything." Buffy said.

"Buffy thinks something is making her mother sick, trying to get to her." Angel explained.

"What makes you think that?" Willow asked.

Buffy picked up the ball. "The guy who found this, he went crazy. Like, overnight." Everyone else stepped back. "It won't hurt us." Buffy added quickly. "I had it on me all night and I'm fine. But the guy, he said stuff. He told me they'll come for me through my family."

"Who?" Giles asked.

"I don't know. But whatever it was, this guy could see it. He could see through whatever it is we can't."

"Buffy's got a point." Angel said. "I find it hard to believe this is all just a big coincidence."

"I want to know who's hurting my mom." Buffy said fiercely.

"Ok, Buffy, we'll keep looking." Willow said reassuringly.

Angel pulled Buffy into his arms and kissed her. "Your mom's going to be ok. We'll find this thing."

Later, they were all researching while also trying to help customers. A woman can up to Willow. "Excuse me, do you gift wrap?"

"Do we?" Willow repeated enthusiastically. She looked around. "Do we? We do!"

Xander arrived and joined them. After saying hello to Anya, he walked over to where Buffy was sitting. "What's up?"

"A demon is making my mom sick to get to me." Buffy said quietly. Xander put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"A new kind of nasty." He said, and grabbed a book. Buffy smiled a little and went back to her own book.

Angel threw a book onto the counter, frustrated. "I know there's a way to find curses and enchantments. I know there is, I know I've heard of one, but I don't know what!"

"Well you know," Anya said. "There was this warlock in the sixteenth century or so who had this spell that demons just hated. It was a-"

"A trance!" Angel cried suddenly. He looked at Anya. "Right?"

Anya nodded. "Exactly. Once you were in this trance you could see the spell."

"See the spell?" Buffy asked.

"Spells leave a trace that cannot be seen by the human eye." Giles explained.

"I knew I had heard of it." Angel said.

"Where did you hear about it?" Willow asked curiously.

"When I was Angelus…eh, you don't want to know."

"Well that's it then." Buffy said. "I do this spell and find out what's hurting my mom."

"I don't know Buffy, trances?" Willow said worriedly.

"Willow's right, trances are extremely difficult." Giles said.

"It's risky, Buffy." Angel said. "Are you sure?"

"Positive."

Angel nodded. "What do we need?"

**0000000ooooooo0000000**

Buffy dumped the supplies out on the floor of her room. "Ok." She said, looking at Angel. "I have to do the spell alone, but I do have a job for you."

"Anything." Angel replied.

"Keep Mom and Dawn away from my room. Mom shouldn't be a problem, its Dawn I'm worried about. She likes you, keep her busy. Please?"

"Sure." Angel smiled and kissed her. "I hope it works."

"Me too."

Angel left, shutting the door behind him. He hurried downstairs to check on Joyce first. She was in the living room, watching TV. Buffy was right, not a problem.

He went back upstairs and saw that Dawn was already knocking on Buffy's door. "What are you doing?" she asked.

Angel could hear Buffy respond. "My boyfriend. Go away."

Dawn glanced down the hall and saw Angel standing there. "Liar." She said. "Are you doing magic? Can I watch?"

"Dawn." Angel said. "It's important. Buffy can't be disturbed, ok?"

Dawn sighed. "Whatever." She went to her room and slammed the door.

Angel knocked on Dawn's door. "Dawnie? Can I come in?"

"Sure." Dawn sighed. He walked in and shut the door. Seeing Dawn sitting on her bed, he sat down next to her. "What's Buffy doing?" Dawn asked.

"Nothing interesting." Angel lied. "Just some Slayer stuff we do sometimes."

"Oh." Dawn sighed. "I wish I could do stuff with the Scoobies sometimes."

"It's not always fun, Dawn. Things get pretty awful."

"I know, but you all do such cool stuff! I'm a nobody. I don't matter. Nobody cares about me."

"Sure they do! Don't even think that they don't."

"Buffy-"

"Buffy's your sister. Sisters are supposed to fight. I had a sister. I know."

"Kathy." Dawn said, looking at him. "That was your sister's name, right?"

Angel tensed at the name. "Yeah, it was."

Dawn noticed Angel's discomfort. "Buffy said you don't talk about her a lot."

"I don't."

"Why not?"

Angel took a moment to respond. "You promise not to tell Buffy or your mother that I've told you?"

"Cross my heart."

Angel fell silent again. Dawn waited patiently, knowing he'd get to it. Finally he answered. "I killed her."

Dawn's eyes widened. "Kathy?"

Angel nodded. "Within 24 hours of becoming a vampire, I had killed her. I loved my sister. When I got my soul back the first time, the first thing I thought of was what I did to her. I killed my own sister. She was younger than you."

"You didn't…turn her, did you?"

Angel shook his head. "No. I just drank. And that's the only part of it I'm grateful of. Becoming a vampire…it's eternal damnation. To turn someone into a souless monster that never dies…it's a fate much worse than ordinary death. If I had turned sweet little innocent Kathy, I would never have been able to forgive myself. Heck, I still don't for killing her." He sighed. "Turning people is the worst thing vampires do. Killing's just second."

Dawn hesitated, then said, "But in your case, there was a silver lining, right?" when he gave her a confused look, she went on, "I mean, if you had never become a vampire, you would never have met Buffy."

Angel smiled. "You're smart, Dawnie. Yeah, I suppose that is a silver lining."

He heard Buffy's door open in the hall. "I'll be right back, Dawn." He said, getting up.

"Ok." Dawn replied.

Angel headed downstairs to find Buffy with Joyce. Buffy was in the trance, he could tell. "There's nothing…" she murmured. The she turned and walked off.

Joyce looked concerned. "She's just tired." Angel said, walking into the room. "She's not the only one, we're all exhausted. We've been working Slayer duty around the clock."

Joyce smiled. "Tell Dawn I'll be back soon, ok?"

"No problem." Angel responded, smiling back. As soon as she was gone, he hurried over to Buffy.

"Buffy?" he asked. She was holding a picture of her, Joyce, and Dawn, staring at it. Then she put it down and grabbed another picture. This one had been taken a few days after graduation. The Scoobies had a party, where Giles, who had found the certificates, and given them to them. Joyce had taken a picture of Buffy, Angel, and Dawn together. Buffy was staring at it, frowning like something was wrong. She put it down and ran upstairs. Angel hurried after her.

Buffy had gone into Dawn's room. Angel heard Dawn say, "Buffy, who said you could come in my room?"

What Angel heard next shocked him. "You're not my sister." Buffy said. Angel ran into the room to find Buffy grabbing Dawn's arm. "What do you want from me?" Buffy yelled. "If you want me, you come to me."

"Buffy." Angel said.

"I'm telling Mom." Dawn said.

"You stay away from my mother!" Buffy shouted, throwing Dawn into the closet door.

"Buffy, stop!" Angel yelled, grabbing Buffy's arm. "What are you doing?"

The phone downstairs rang. Buffy looked at Dawn, and then ran downstairs as fast as she could. Angel ran after her.

Buffy was talking to Giles on the phone. "Giles," she whispered, "I just saw…"

She trailed off and turned around. Angel turned too and saw Dawn standing there. "Nothing." Buffy said. "It didn't work." She hung up. "I have to go." She said. "Slayer stuff." She turned to Angel. "Stay here. Keep an eye on her. I'll explain later. Angel," she looked into his eye and said very seriously, "Don't leave her alone with Mom." She left without another word.

Dawn stormed back upstairs to her room. Angel followed. "Buffy said the spell could make her a little confused for a while." He lied. "That's all it was."

"Whatever." Dawn snapped. She slammed the door in his face.

Angel waited downstairs for either Joyce or Buffy, whoever turned up first. As it turned out, Joyce got home first. "Hello Angel." She sighed, dropping her bag. "Where's Buffy?"

"Patrolling. Slayer emergency. Dawn's upstairs."

"Slayer emergency? Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, it'll be fine. Nothing Buffy can't handle."

"You're probably right." Joyce sighed, sitting down next to him.

"Mom?" Dawn appeared in the doorway. "You're home early."

"Yeah. I was feeling…what's the medical term? Crappy. So I called off the big night out." Joyce sighed.

"Oh." Dawn said. "Do you want to watch a movie?"

"Sure." Joyce said. "That sounds nice."

Angel remembered Buffy's words. _"Don't leave her alone with Mom."_

"Mind if I join you?" Angel asked.

"Of course not, the more the merrier." Joyce said, smiling. Angel smiled back, glancing at Dawn.

Buffy returned about half an hour later. "Hi." She said.

"Hey honey." Joyce replied. "How was patrol?"

"Busy." Buffy replied. Dawn just glared and went upstairs. Buffy followed. Angel, concerned and confused, did the same.

He found them in Dawn's room. Buffy sat down on the bed next to Dawn and stroked her hair gently. They appeared to have made up, or as close as they were going to get, anyway. "What's wrong with Mom?" Dawn asked.

"I don't know." Buffy whispered back. Angel watched silently from the hallway.

After a while, Buffy left Dawn alone. She looked at Angel. "Can we go home now?"

Angel nodded and wrapped an arm around her gently. They said goodbye to Joyce and got into Angel's car. Buffy sat silently next to Angel as he drove. They were about halfway to the mansion when the tears finally came. She broke down completely, sobbing uncontrollably without trying to stop. Angel put his arm around her until they got home. He carried her inside, where they sat down on the couch. Buffy sobbed into his shoulder.

"Buffy, honey." Angel said soothingly. "What's going on? What's wrong? Please tell me."

Buffy pulled back, her eyes red from crying. "Dawn's not my sister." She whispered. She fell back into his arms, shaking with sobs. "But she doesn't know that."

**Sorry this chapter was late. Please review!**


	6. Family

**Chapter/episode 6: Family. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Buffy**

**The Mansion**

Buffy had called Giles and asked him to come right away. He had, and now he was sitting with Buffy and Angel in the living room of the mansion. Buffy had just finished saying what happened earlier that night.

"Remarkable." Giles whispered.

"What should we do?" Angel asked.

"I have to protect Dawn." Buffy said. "This woman wants her, and if she gets her she will probably use whatever power the Key has. And I don't know what it is, but it will probably kill Dawn and do something really bad to the world."

"She might not be safe in Sunnydale." Giles said. "Maybe we should send her somewhere. Your father?"

"He's in Spain." Buffy sighed. "With his secretary. Yeah, cliché. I called him when Mom got sick, and I haven't heard back."

"I'm sorry." Giles said. Angel put his hand on her shoulder.

"I don't want to send her away, anyway. They sent her to me. I think I'm supposed to protect her myself." Buffy said.

"Are you going to tell her?" Giles asked.

"How can we?" Angel asked. "What would we say? She's happier not knowing for now. We'll have to tell her eventually, but not yet."

"Angel's right." Buffy said. "I think she's also safer if she knows nothing. That goes for the others, too. This stay between the three of us."

"I think that's wise." Giles agreed.

"In the meantime," Buffy went on, "I have to find a way to protect Dawn." She fell silent for a few moments. She looked around the room, and finally turned to Angel. "Angel…I know we just got settled but…what would you say to moving into my house for a while, both of us?" she rushed on. "Just until the danger is past, then we can come back here, and every once and a while we can spend the night here-"

"Buffy." Angel interrupted. "I think that's a good idea. We can keep a closer eye on Dawn. But, uh, your mom wouldn't mind?"

Buffy almost smiled. "She likes you, Angel. I don't think she'll have a problem with it. I'll talk to her tomorrow."

"Then I'm all for it." Angel said.

"Thank you." Buffy whispered.

Giles stood up. "Well that's settled then. I think I should go home. I'm very tired from running the shop all day."

"Yes, how did it go?" Angel asked curiously.

"I ended up giving Anya a job."

**0000000ooooooo0000000**

Angel pulled the car up next to Buffy's house. "I'll see you at the magic shop." Buffy said as she got out.

"Right." Angel agreed. He kissed her. "See you soon. I love you."

"I love you too." Buffy replied. She watched him drive away and then went into the house.

Dawn was just coming down the stairs when Buffy walked in. "Hi Buffy." She said in surprise. "We weren't expecting to see you until later."

"I wanted to talk to Mom quick about something." Buffy explained. "Where is she?"

"Upstairs."

"Thanks." Buffy hurried upstairs. She went into her mother's room and found her sitting on the bed. "Hi Mom."

"Buffy." Joyce said. "This is a pleasant surprise. What are you doing here? I thought you said you and Angel were meeting the others at the magic shop."

"I'm meeting them there in a little while." Buffy said. She sat down next to her. "I wanted to talk to you about something."

"Uh oh." Joyce said. "Did something bad happen?"

"No." Buffy said quickly. "I was just thinking…you've been sick and Angel and I have been helping a lot, which we're more than happy to do, but it's kind of a long drive from the Mansion to here every day. So we were talking about it last night and we wondering if you'd be open to us moving in here."

"Oh, Buffy, I couldn't ask you to do that." Joyce said. "You guys are starting your own life together. And I realize that with Angel being a vampire it's not like you'll be having your own kids or anything but you're still getting married and starting out together. I can't ask you to move back home."

"You're not asking, I'm asking. And I've talked to Angel and he's all for it. And we'll still have the mansion so sometimes we can get away and spend some time there. And once everything's calmed down, we'll move back. We just want to make sure you're ok."

Joyce smiled. "Well, I won't pretend it wouldn't be nice to have you back in the house. You're sure?"

"Positive."

Joyce sighed. "Ok."

**0000000ooooooo0000000**

**A few days later**

"But we just helped her move in." Anya complained. "And now we have to help both of them move out?"

"It's not that bad, Anya." Xander said.

Xander, Anya, Willow, Tara, Giles, and Riley were helping Buffy and Angel move out of the mansion and into Buffy's house.

Buffy walked in. "Thanks for helping us, guys."

"No problem." Willow said. "That's what friends do, they help each other move."

"Even when we just moved you in." Anya added.

"I just wanted to be closer to my mom. You know, since she'd been sick." Buffy said.

"I think that's smart." Willow agreed. "Now if you would only get started on your wedding plans…"

"Shut up." Buffy said just as Angel walked back. "Angel, tell her to shut up."

"Shut up." Angel said absentmindedly. "Are there more boxes to take down to the car?"

"Yeah, you can take those." Xander said, pointing at a small stack.

"I'll go with you." Tara said. She and Angel left.

As soon as Tara was gone, Willow turned to everyone else. "Ok, so you guys will be at the Bronze for the party, right?"

"Um…party?" Buffy asked.

"Tara's party!" Willow cried. "For her birthday! Did you forget? You're still coming, right?"

"Oh, of course." Buffy said quickly, remembering. "Angel and I will be there."

"Us too." Xander added.

Angel and Tara returned. "I think we're almost done." Riley sighed, closing another box.

The phone rang. "I'll get it." Angel said. He looked around. "Um…where's the phone?"

They all looked around for a minute. "Oh, I think it's behind this box." Buffy said suddenly. She moved a box and Angel picked up the phone.

"Hello?" he said.

"Hey, Angel."

"Oz!" Angel said, recognizing the voice. Several of the others looked up. "It's been a while. How are you?"

"I'm ok. You?"

"Could be worse." Angel replied. "What's up?"

"Well it occurred to me today that it's been several months since we last spoke, but when we did you were planning on proposing to Buffy. I decided it was time to find out if you ever actually did."

Angel grinned. "Yeah, I did. And don't worry, I didn't forget what I said. We don't have a date set yet, but I'll let you know when we do."

Buffy walked over and yelled, "Hi Oz!" so he would hear.

"Was that Buffy?" Oz asked.

"Yeah." Angel replied.

"Tell her I said hello. And say hi to Willow for me too."

Angel held the phone out. "Everybody say hi to Oz."

Everybody yelled hello. Angel got back on the phone. "Hello?"

"…how many people are at your house?"

"Everyone. We're moving into Buffy's house today. Which reminds me, we're disconnecting this phone, so the number you have won't be any good. But Buffy talked me into getting a cell phone ("Finally." Buffy muttered), so you can call me on that." He gave Oz the number.

"Angel, hurry up, we're taking the last of the things down and then we're leaving." Buffy called.

"I've got to go." Angel said.

"Ok. Call me when you set a date, I'll be there."

"Yep. Bye." He hung up and hurried after Buffy.

**0000000ooooooo0000000**

Buffy, Angel, Xander, Anya and Giles were at the Magic Box. Buffy and Xander were starting research on the woman Buffy had met a few nights before. Anya was working the counter. Giles and Angel were also discussing the woman. Willow and Tara were supposed to be there soon.

Angel and Giles walked back over to Buffy and Xander. "Do you guys have anything?" Angel asked.

"Nothing. We're stumped. I was thinking maybe some kind of plant that grows herbs you use in spells." Buffy said.

Angel stared at her. "You think the woman was a…plant?"

"What? Oh, no, we're talking about Tara. We don't know what to get her for her birthday."

"You're in a magic shop, and you can't think of what to give Tara for her birthday." Giles said. "I think you're both profoundly stupid."

"Yes, but what do you get a witch?" Xander asked. "Like, some sort of cheesy crystal ball?"

"You had better well not!" Giles cried. "I've already got mine wrapped!"

Just then, a man started looking at their books. "So, these are all spell books?" he asked.

They all looked up at him. "Um, my private collection." Giles said. "Books for sale are over there."

"So…are you guys all witches?" the man asked. Buffy and Angel glanced at each other. "Don't put a spell on me now! But can you turn people into frogs and stuff like that?"

"Yes, we're building a race of frog people." Xander said. "It's very exciting."

Just then, Willow and Tara walked in, talking and laughing. Tara stopped dead, however, when she saw the man, the smiled sliding off her face. "Well, look who it is!" the man cried.

"Donny." Tara said. "What are you doing here?"

"Can't I come see my little sister on her birthday?" Donny asked.

Willow looked at Tara. "Sister?"

Tara took a deep breath. "Guys, this is my brother Donny. Donny, these are my friends, Willow, Xander, Buffy, Angel, Anya, and Mr. Giles."

"These are all your friends?" Donny asked. "That's more people than you met in high school! We were told to come find you down here-"

"We?" Tara asked. The door opened again, and a man and young woman walked in. Tara turned around. "Dad. Cousin Beth."

"Happy birthday, Tara." Mr. McClay said.

"I d-didn't know you were c-coming." Tara stuttered.

"We thought we'd surprise you." Her father said. "I want us to have dinner tonight."

"Of course." Tara replied, forcing a smile.

"Great. I'll pick you up later. Now if you'll excuse us, we're double parked." They turned to leave.

"It was nice to meet you all." Donny said as he left.

**0000000ooooooo0000000**

Later, Angel was doing one last round through the cemetery when he ran into Spike. "What do you want?" Angel growled.

"What's wrong with you?" Spike replied.

"Well gee, I don't know, maybe it has something to do with you talking to me."

"Ok, I get it, you're not happy to see me. We'll I'm not happy to see you either, but I got some information I think you really want to hear."

Angel sighed. "Fine. What did you hear?"

"Well actually, Harmony heard. Apparently there's a group of demons trying to kill the Slayer."

Angel froze. "When?"

"Well, now."

Angel darted forward, running out of the cemetery at top speed. Spike was right behind him. Angel decided it wasn't worth the time or energy to get rid of him.

They took the back way, bursting into Buffy's training room. Buffy was lying on the floor, trying to fight off a large demon. Another one was coming toward her. Angel pulled the first one off of Buffy while Spike tackled the second one. Angel broke the demons neck with one quick snap. Buffy looked confused, got up, and ran out of the room. "Buffy?" Angel asked, but she didn't seem to know he was there.

"Angel, little help?" Spike growled as he fought the demon. Angel ran over, and the two of them killed the demon. Then they ran into the front. It was a rather bizarre sight. "Can't they see them?" Spike asked. They were all clearly trying to fight the demons, but didn't seem to know where they were. Tara was standing near the door, muttering something.

"No." Angel whispered. "They can't see them."

Suddenly there was a rush through the room. Buffy blinked, and then punched the demon in front of her. She could see it now.

Once they could see what they were fighting, they defeated the demons quickly. Tara's family can hurrying through the door just as Buffy killed the last one.

"What was that?" Mr. McClay asked.

"A demon." Buffy answered. "But we couldn't we see them?"

"Good question." Angel spoke up. Everyone turned to see Angel and Spike.

"When did you guys get here?" Buffy asked in surprise.

"Now, pretty much." Angel responded. "You couldn't see us either."

"You were the one who pulled that demon off me in the back." Buffy said slowly, understanding.

"Yep."

After a pause, Spike said, "I helped."

"I-I'm sorry." Tara whispered. "I didn't think this would happen."

"You put a spell on us." Buffy said. She glanced at Dawn, who was standing off to the side. "You almost got us all killed."

"Tara?" Willow asked.

"I-I just didn't w-want you t-t-to see what I r-really am." Tara said.

"What do you mean?" Angel asked. Tara didn't answer.

"A demon." Mr. McClay said. "The women in our family have demon in them. As they get older it begins to show. Her mother had it. We came here to take her home with us. We know how to deal with her…problem."

"Tara, is this true?" Willow asked in shock. Tara nodded, tears running down her cheek.

"I'm sorry." She whispered. "I'm so sorry."

"Do you want to go?" Willow asked.

"That's not up to you , young lady." Mr. McClay said.

"I know that!" Willow yelled. She turned back to Tara. "Do you want to go?" Tara shook her head slowly. "Then stay."

"Now wait a minute!" Mr. McClay shouted. "Tara, you must come with us this instant or so help me I will-"

"You'll what?" Angel said suddenly. Mr. McClay looked at him. "You've seen what my girl here can do. Would you like to be in that demon's position?"

Buffy stepped forward. "You can have her, Mr. McClay." Buffy said. Tara looked at the floor. "But first you'll have to go through me." Tara looked up again in shock.

"And me." Willow added.

"It's going to take a lot more than two little girls to stop me." Mr. McClay said.

"You're not just dealing with two little girls." Giles told him.

"You're dealing with all of us." Xander said.

"Except me." Spike spoke up.

"Except Spike." Xander added.

"I don't care what happens." Spike said.

"This is ridicules!" Mr. McClay shouted. "We are her blood kin! What are you?"

"We're family." Buffy answered. Angel took her hand.

Tara smiled. Her cousin Beth stepped forward. "Well, I hope you all have fun hanging out with the disgusting demon!" she snapped.

"What kind?" Anya asked suddenly.

Beth was caught off guard. "What?"

"What kind of demon is she?"Anya asked. "There are lots of different kinds."

"What does it matter?" Mr. McClay snapped. "A demon's a demon."

"I take offence to that." Angel said. Tara's family all looked at him strange.

"Let's make this simple." Spike sighed. He walked up to Tara and punched her in the face. They both cried out in pain. Willow's face lit up.

"It hurt! I mean, it hurt him!" she cried excitedly.

"And that only works on humans." Buffy said.

"There's no demon in there, is there?" Angel said suddenly. "Just a bit of family legend to keep the girls in line."

"Oh, you're a piece of work." Spike said. "I like you."

"I really think you should go now." Angel said. He stepped forward guided them to the door. "And just so you know, Anya's right. Not all demons are bad." He vamped out. Beth screamed. "Go. Now." They left quickly.

Buffy laughed. Angel went back to normal, grinning. "That was fun."

**0000000ooooooo0000000**

The next night was Tara's party at the Bronze. Everyone went, even Dawn. Buffy, Angel, Giles, Riley, Xander, and Dawn were all at a table. "This is fun." Dawn said. "But I wish I didn't have to wear this stamp."

"That's to make sure you don't go drinking underage." Xander said.

"Oh, please." Dawn said. "Only losers drink alcohol." Everyone else looked at each other a slowly put their cups down.

A slow song came on. Angel held out his hand to Buffy. "Want to dance?"

Buffy stared at him. "Seriously?"

"Sure."

"Ok." Buffy said, surprised. They went out on the dance floor. Buffy saw Willow and Tara dancing as well. "I'm glad everything worked out with Tara."

"Me too." Angel agreed. After a minute, he said, "So I think we really have to start thinking about the wedding, because in the last 24 hours everybody we know has brought it up."

Buffy laughed. "You're probably right. It just…seems weird to be planning something like a wedding in the middle of everything." She glanced at Dawn, who was talking to Xander.

"It's going to be fine, Buffy." Angel said seriously.

She smiled at him. "As long as you're here in is." She kissed him.

**Did you guys like hearing from Oz? I thought it had been a while since we'd heard from him, so I decided he should call. Please review!**


	7. Fool for Love

**Chapter/episode 7: Fool for Love. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Buffy the Vampire Slayer**

Buffy was patrolling in the graveyard. She was taking this half, Angel had the other half. There was a noise behind her. She turned around and found a vampire.

"Oh, please. Are you serious about that outfit?" she said. The vampire looked down at his clothes. Buffy sighed. "Well, I suppose I should just put you out of your misery now." She punched him. The fight progressed like any other fight with a vampire she usually had.

The vampire had her backed into a corner, but she wasn't worried. "I have to warn you," she began, "This isn't going to be pre-"she broke of as a stab of terrible pain sliced through her abdomen. She looked down at her own stake sticking out of her stomach.

The vampire laughed. There was a noise, and the vampire looked up, terrified, and ran off.

"Buffy!" Angel shouted. He saw the vamp run off, but he didn't run after it. "Buffy."

"Angel." Buffy whispered. She passed out. Angel picked her up and ran out of the graveyard, holding her in his arms.

**0000000ooooooo0000000**

Angel opened the door and tip-toed inside. He could hear Joyce in the kitchen. He knew that she would freak out if she saw Buffy unconscious, so he tried to sneak up the stairs. Just as he reached the first step, however, Dawn appeared in the hallway. Her eyes widened at the sight of her sister. Angel put a finger to his lips, begging her to be quiet. She nodded and slowly went back into the kitchen. Angel heard her start up a conversation with Joyce, which would keep Joyce distracted. Reminding himself to thank her later, he took Buffy up to her room and shut the door.

They had a first-aid kit hidden in their room for emergencies. This definitely qualified. He lifted up her shirt and started treating the wound.

After he had dressed the wound, Buffy stirred. "Angel…" she groaned, opening her eyes.

"Shh." Angel replied. "You're ok."

"The vampire stabbed me." Buffy said. She slowly sat up, wincing.

"Yeah, but you're alright." Angel replied. "When I get my hands on that vamp, though…"

Buffy smiled. "That vampire should be terrified." She said. "Surely he knows you'll be after him."

Angel smiled back and kissed her.

Dawn opened the door. "Mom's coming." She said. They quickly straightened up and made sure Buffy's bandage wasn't visible. Joyce walked in.

"Buffy, Angel, I didn't even realize you guys were home." Joyce said.

"We were sneaky." Buffy said.

Joyce eyed the bottle of rubbing alcohol that they had forgotten to put away. "Are you…disinfecting something?"

Before either Buffy or Angel could come up with a lie, Dawn cried, "Mine!" she grabbed the bottle. "Nail polish experiments doomed before they had begun."

"But you just keep pushing the envelope, sweetie." Joyce said, smiling. She looked around and noticed a couple of notebooks and loose papers spread out on the floor in the corner. "What have you two been doing?"

"Giving in." Buffy replied.

"Those are the beginnings of the wedding plans you kept telling us to get started on." Angel explained.

"What have you got so far?" Dawn asked eagerly.

"Not much. We're trying to decide on a date and a guest list and basic stuff like that." Buffy said.

"Well keep at it." Joyce said, smiling. "I'll see you guys later." She walked away. Dawn turned to Buffy and Angel.

"Did I just pull a Slayer-related mom cover-up? Yes, I did." She said proudly.

Angel smiled. "Good work, Dawnie."

"Yeah, thanks Dawn." Buffy sighed.

"Can I see?" Dawn asked.

Buffy hesitated. "You promise you won't tell?" she asked. Dawn nodded. Buffy slowly lifted her shirt to reveal the bandaged stab wound.

"Ouch." Dawn winced.

"Yeah, it hurt. I just don't understand how I let it happen. It was just your everyday vampire, and he nearly killed me. What made tonight different?" Buffy wondered in frustration. "I've defeated some of the world's most dangerous monsters but an ordinary vampire almost beat me. Was it like that for other Slayers? What beats a Slayer?" she looked at Angel. "You killed Slayers, right?"

Angel felt very uncomfortable as he looked back at Buffy and Dawn, both of whom were watching him intently. "Well yeah…that was a long time ago."

"How did you do it?" Buffy asked earnestly.

"Wouldn't you like to know."

"Angel, I'm serious."

"Me too."

"I have to know."

Angel sighed in frustration. "Look, I don't want to talk about all the people I killed when I was Angelus, ok?"

"Not all the people, just the Slayers!"

"Those are the worst ones!"

Buffy could see he wasn't going to budge on this one and the argument was lost. "Fine. If you won't tell me, I'll go to Giles and look through some old Watchers diaries. Maybe they'll tell me something."

"Good." Angel agreed. "I'll drop you off at the Magic Box if you like."

"Where are you going?"

"The cemetery." Angel said grimly. "There's a certain vampire that has to pay for trying to kill my girl."

"Poor guy has no idea what he's gotten himself into." Dawn remarked, shaking her head.

"No kidding." Buffy agreed. "Let's go."

**0000000ooooooo0000000**

Angel slowly crept towards the vampire's crypt. He'd found it quickly. The guy seemed to be having a party. After a moment Angel realized that the party was to celebrate the death of the Slayer. Angel clenched his firsts furiously. The vamp was dying in the most painful way Angel could come up with.

Angel vamped out and walked casually into the crypt. The vampire that had killed Buffy seemed to be making a speech. Silently, Angel lifted the cross-bow that he had brought and shot him, purposely missing his heart by millimeters. The vamp screamed in pain. "Hello." Angel said nonchalantly. "I couldn't help but overhear that you killed the Slayer."

"Angelus." The vampire gasped.

Angel grinned. "You've heard of me. Then you know why I'm here."

"Killing us won't change anything." Another vamp spoke up. Angel looked at him. "The Slayer will still be dead."

Angel walked up to him. "They Slayer's not dead, idiot." He said, and staked the vamp. He turned around. "Who's next?"

There were four vamps left, including the one who tried to kill Buffy. Two ran for the door. Angel pulled two more stakes out and threw them at the vamps. He hit them both perfectly. "Amateurs." He mumbled. He turned to the next one and grabbed him before he could run, breaking his neck and turning him to dust. "This is just too easy." He said loudly, turning to the last vampire, the one who attacked Buffy. "I get the feeling you won't be much harder."

"Uh…" the vamp said nervously as Angel walked towards him. "I, um…" he thought for a moment, and then said, "The Slayer's really not dead?"

Angel punched him in the face. "So here's what we're going to do." He said, and punched him again. "I," punch "am," punch "going," punch "to," punch "beat," punch "you," punch "to," punch "a," punch "bloody," punch "pulp," punch "and," punch "then," punch "I'm," punch "going," punch "to," punch "kill," punch "you."

He beat the vamp for a full half an hour before he finally staked him. "I think I've made myself clear."

**0000000ooooooo0000000**

Angel walked into the Bronze. Giles had said Buffy had gone to talk to Spike, and he had a feeling he'd find them here. Sure enough, he saw Buffy and Spike at one of the pool tables in the back. He headed over. But before he got to them, they went out through the back door. Intrigued, Angel followed.

"Ok." He heard Buffy say. "What are we doing out here?"

"You want to know how I killed Slayers." Spike said. "I thought we'd have a demonstration."

Angel cleared his throat. Buffy and Spike both whirled around. "Oh, it's just you, Peaches." Spike sighed.

"Hi Angel." Buffy said.

"What kind of presentation are we talking about here?" Angel asked Spike. "If it involves actually killing her, I'd like to tell you the story of how I beat up the vamp that tried to kill her for thirty minutes before killing him."

Spike rolled his eyes. "Always so dramatic."

"_I'm _dramatic?" Angel cried. "Who wants to have a history lesson of all the times Spike has been overdramatic?"

"Name one time!"

"Well there was that time in Paris-"

"Children!" Buffy shouted. "Either get this show on the road or let me go home!"

Angel and Spike glared at each other. "Might as well tell her what she wants." Angel sighed.

"Yep." Spike agreed. "You first."

Angel led Buffy out into the middle of the alley. "You want to know how we killed the Slayers." He said.

"Duh." Buffy retorted.

"Every Slayer has a weakness. To kill her, you must know it. But that's the most basic level of the fight, the part you can see with your eyes. That's just the surface." Angel continued.

Spike came up behind them. "Want to dance, Slayer?"

Buffy whirled around and tried to kick him, but he dodged her. "You think we're dancing?" she asked.

"That's all we've ever done." Spike answered. "How many of our kind do you think you've done in?"

"Not enough." Buffy responded.

"And they just keep coming." Angel said. "Because ever vampire in the world is just waiting for one of them to get what they all hope for."

"And what's that?"

Spike stepped forward. "One…"

Angel swooped in behind Buffy. "Good…"

Spike darted in front of her. "Day." He finished.

"It's not about how we won." Angel said. "It's about how they lost."

"The fact is, Slayer," Spike went on, as he and Angel circled Buffy, "that every morning you wake up to the same bloody question that's haunting you: 'Is today the day I die?' Every Slayer has a death wish. A moment where you wonder…what's it like? Even you."

"That's the moment vampires take advantage of." Angel said. "The moment the Slayer has a doubt…and they never waste that moment." He lunged forward so they were less than an inch apart. "Come on, Slayer," he whispered into her ear, "You know you want to dance."

Buffy grinned. She pushed him away and kicked him in the chest. Then she groaned in pain and fell, her hand on her stomach. Both vampires were at her side in an instant. "I'm fine." She said, standing up.

"Thus endith the lesson." Angel said.

Buffy reached into her pocket and pulled out a wad of cash. She tossed it to Spike. "Thanks."

"Anytime." Spike replied, counting the money.

The three of them walked back to the house. "Oh, and just so you know," Buffy said, "You're both dramatic." She quickened her pace, aware that they had both stopped short and trying hid her smirk.

"She…she doesn't know what she's talking about." Spike said.

"No, she doesn't get it." Angel said.

"It wouldn't have made such an impression if we hadn't done it like that." Spike reasoned.

"Yeah, that was the most effective way." Angel added.

They started walking again. After a minute, Spike said, "Did you really beat a vampire for a full thirty minutes?"

"Yep."

"…was it fun?"

"Kinda."

They got to the house. Buffy was already inside. Angel wandered into the backyard, and Spike followed. "Don't you have somewhere else to be?" Angel asked.

"Not really, no." Spike replied.

"Well you don't need to be here."

"You always do this." Spike cried. "A minute ago we were having a pleasant conversation, and now you're telling me to bugger off!"

"That pretty much sums it up."

"I tried to help you! I helped you back there with Buffy, I fought off those demons with you at the magic shop that the others couldn't see the other day, and before you even bring up the thing with the surgeon I would like to point out that you don't like that Riley guy anyway!"

"So because you've helped a few times I'm supposed to trust you?" Angel cried. "You don't like me any more than I like you!"

"No, but we could help each other if you gave it the chance! Face it Angel, we make a better team than either of us would like to admit!"

"Except we're after different things. We're on opposite sides now, William, things have changed. I'm not Angelus, and we're not traveling with Darla and Drusilla anymore."

"You think I don't know that? We're not on opposite sides, Angel, in case you haven't noticed I've been fighting on your side for a while now!"

Before Angel could reply, the door opened. They both looked and saw Buffy walk out and sit on the steps. She put her head in her hands and started to cry. Angel and Spike glanced at each other before going over and sitting with her. Angel sat on one side of her, Spike on the other. "Are you ok?" Spike asked.

"Honey, what's wrong?" Angel asked gently, putting his arm around her and stroking her hair.

"Is there something we can do?" Spike asked. He put his hand on her knee, trying to comfort her.

"Anything to make it better?" Angel added. She shook her head, but her sobs slowed. Angel wiped a tear off her cheek. "Tell us what happened."

**That turned out better than I thought it would. I rather like. Did you guys like it? Please review!**


	8. Shadow

**Chapter/episode 8: Shadow. **

**Ok, I know you're all furious with me. I am so sorry, I really am. I know it's been over a week, and I'm really very sorry. I just got so busy (school, homework, studying for finals) and on top of it I kind of got writers block so it took me a really long time to finish. I promise I will try as hard as I possibly can to do better. **

**Disclaimer: You know the drill. I don't own anything, blah, blah, blah.**

Buffy handed Dawn a can of soda then sat down and opened her can. Angel was sitting next them, wishing he could do something. They were at the hospital, and waiting as Joyce had a CAT scan. Buffy and Dawn were both stressed and scared and Angel couldn't do a damn thing about, which he hated. He wanted to help, but there was nothing he could do.

"I'm sure everything will be fine." He said for about the millionth time.

Buffy nodded. He took her hand and squeezed it. She smiled, comforted by the small gesture.

It was a while before Buffy was told she could go talk to Joyce. Buffy looked at Angel, and he nodded. They always knew what the other was thinking. Buffy wanted Angel to stay with Dawn, and he agreed. Buffy left and Angel sat closer to Dawn.

Dawn was starting to drift off to sleep. Angel smiled at the sight of her curled up peacefully in a chair. He took his jacket off and draped it over her.

Buffy came back a few minutes later. She looked shaken, and was a little pale. "What happened?" Angel asked as she sat down with him.

"They found a shadow." She whispered. "They don't know what it is. They're doing another test."

He kissed her and pulled her into his arms. "It'll be ok." He whispered.

"Will it?" Buffy asked softly. "Will it really?"

"Yes." Angel told her. "It's going to be fine."

**0000000ooooooo0000000**

"It's taking a long time." Buffy said nervously.

"Relax." Angel said soothingly. Truthfully, he was worried too, but Buffy needed to calm down. Dawn was still asleep in her chair.

"Look." Buffy said suddenly. Angel looked and saw the doctor walking toward them. "Oh god." Buffy whispered. Angel helped her up and the two of them walked up to meet the doctor.

"What did you find?" Buffy asked.

"Maybe you should sit down." The doctor said.

"No." Buffy replied. "I mean…I've been sitting all day. Just tell me."

The doctor nodded. "Your mother has a kind of brain tumor." He said. He went on to talk about how they had to see if it was operable or not, and different forms of treatment, and Angel listened to a point, but he mostly focused on holding onto Buffy as she stood there, shaking. She was squeezing his hand so tightly that if he had been human she would have surely broken it. But he didn't care. He let her hold onto him, knowing she was barely keeping in together.

The doctor eventually led them over to sit down. "In the meantime," he said, "I was wondering if you could tell me your mother's insurance…"

"I'll deal with the paperwork." Angel spoke up. The doctor nodded and handed Angel a bunch of papers on a clipboard. Glancing at Buffy and sensing that she didn't want to think about the paperwork at that moment, he said to the doctor, "Let's talk over here." And they walked over to the desk to go over the paperwork.

Buffy sat in her chair, feeling numb. "It's Buffy, right?" a voice said. She looked up and saw Ben, the intern she had talked to the last couple times she had been there.

"Yeah. And you're Ben, right?"

"Yeah. I heard about your mom. I'm sorry." Ben said, sitting down next to her. "But she's in good hands. The doctors here are really good." He looked at Buffy. "You know what? We don't you get out."

Buffy looked at him, startled. "What?"

"I mean you should get out of here for a while. Your mom's not going to wake up for a couple of hours. Take your sister and your…" he trailed off and looked at Angel, who was still going over paperwork.

"Fiancé." Buffy supplied.

"Oh, you're getting married. Congratulations." Ben told her, smiling. "Why don't you guys get out for a while? You can come back when your mom wakes up."

Buffy nodded. "That's a good idea. Thanks."

"Anytime." Ben said. "I've got to go." He got up and left. A few minutes later, Buffy saw Riley walk into the waiting room.

"Riley?" she said, getting up and walking over.

"I heard." Riley said. "Do you know anything?"

"Yeah." Buffy said. "It's a brain tumor."

"Oh, Buffy, I am so sorry." Riley said. Buffy sighed. She was turning off her emotions for now. As soon as she was alone with Angel, she would let herself cry and cry, and he could hold her in his arms. But for now, she was controlling herself.

"Listen." Buffy said. "Would you do me a favor?"

"Anything." Riley said.

Buffy glanced at Dawn and then looked back at Riley. "Dawn has to go to school soon. Will you take her?"

"Of course." Riley said. "What are you and Angel going to do?"

"Um…" Buffy trailed off. She hadn't thought about it yet. "I think we'll go to the Magic Box. Maybe check in on the research for the woman I fought before. Thank you for taking her to school. I'll see you later." She hurried over to Angel.

**0000000ooooooo0000000**

Buffy and Angel walked into the Magic Box and found all the Scoobies sitting at the table, looking rather worried. "Buffy!" Willow said, the first to see them come in. "How's your mom?"

Buffy looked at Angel, and he squeezed her hand gently. "My mom has a brain tumor." Buffy whispered.

"Oh my god!" Willow cried. She stood up and hugged Buffy. "I'm so sorry."

"We're here for you, Buff." Xander said comfortingly. Tara hugged Buffy as well. Giles put his hand on her shoulder and gave her a reassuring smile to tell her it would be alright.

"Dawn doesn't know yet." Buffy said. "I know Mom will want to tell her herself and she's not awake yet. Dawn will be here in a while, so just don't say anything to her, ok?" the others nodded. "I just don't want to make things worse."

"Well I think we've done enough making things worse for one day." Anya said bluntly.

"What?" Buffy and Angel said at the same time.

"Anya." Giles said quietly, annoyed.

"Well it was your fault." Anya said.

"What's she talking about?" Buffy asked. "Giles?"

"Well, I, uh…it turns the woman you fought the other day got the things she needs for a spell from here." Giles said.

Buffy's eyes widened and she looked at Angel, who also looked alarmed. "She was here?" she cried. "Is anyone hurt?"

"Oh no, there was no battle." Anya said.

"Yes." Giles sighed. "I sold them to her."

"You sold them to her?" Angel yelled.

"Yes. But if it's any consolation, I think I may have overcharged her."

"Do you know what spell she's going to do?" Buffy asked.

"Tara and I have been researching it." Willow said. "We have a few leads as to what the things she bought can be used for together. Come here, look…"

Buffy went to see what Willow and Tara had found. Meanwhile, Angel turned to Giles, Xander, and Anya. "Do we have any information on the woman herself?"

"I'm afraid not." Giles sighed, taking off his glasses and starting to clean them. "Tara has a theory. She thinks that maybe this woman is so old that she predates written language."

Angel considered it. "It's definitely a possibility." He decided.

They spent some time researching until Willow and Tara figured out where she was using magic. Buffy said she'd go try to find her and stop her. "Do you want me to go with you?" Angel asked.

"No." Buffy said. "I can deal with it. I want you to stay here. When Dawn gets here…"

"I got it." He assured her. "Go."

"Thanks." Buffy said. She kissed him and ran out the door.

Dawn did arrive a few minutes later. "Hi Dawnie." Angel said when she walked in.

"Hi." She said. She looked around. "Where's Buffy?"

"She had to do a patrol. She should be back before long. Do you have homework?"

"Yeah." Dawn sighed. She sat down next to him and started pulling stuff out of her bag.

"Angel." Giles said. He was standing over by the counter, holding the phone. Angel got up and walked over. "It's Buffy." Giles said quietly.

"A snake." Buffy's voice said. "Big. Not the mayor big, but still big. I'm at the hospital. My mom's going to wake up soon, I want to see her. Is Dawn with you?"

"She's here." Angel said.

"Good. Keep her safe."

"Don't worry." Angel said. "She's safe with us."

"Thanks. I'll see you soon. Angel?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you."

Angel smiled a little. "I love you too."

After they hung up, Angel and Giles walked back over to the others, who were still researching. "I give up!" Xander said loudly, slamming his book down on the table. "I think Tara's right; this woman's just too old to be in books."

"I wish I had some of the really ancient scrolls from the Watchers Council." Giles said thoughtfully. "Some of them have things too old for many books."

Angel suddenly though of something. He pulled out his phone. "What are you doing?" Willow asked.

"Making a phone call." Angel replied. "I thought of something."

"To who?" Xander asked. "What did you think of?"

"Giles," Angel said, "isn't the only person we know who used to be on the Watchers Council."

Xander and Willow grinned at each other. "Wesley." They said at the same time.

"Who?" Tara asked curiously.

Angel, meanwhile, called L.A. "Paranormal Investigations." A familiar female voice answered. "We help the helpless."

"Cordelia." Angel said. "It's Angel."

"Oh, Angel! How are you?"

"No great." Angel answered honestly. "Is everyone there?"

"Yeah, me, Doyle, Wes, and Gunn."

"Great. Put me on speaker."

A moment later, he heard the voice of Charles Gunn. "Angel, what's up?"

Angel had met Gunn a few times before. Over the summer, he and Buffy had gone to L.A. for two weeks on vacation and had gone to visit their friends there, and they'd been introduced to Gunn. Angel liked him; he was a fighter.

"Wesley, you there?" Angel asked.

"Yes, Angel." Wesley responded.

"Angel," Doyle said, "Is something wrong."

"Yeah, we've got a problem." Angel told them everything about the woman, only leaving out the part where Dawn was the Key.

"Of never heard of anything like that." Wesley said.

Buffy walked inside. "How's everything? Dawn, how are you? Who are you talking to, Angel?" she asked all in a rush.

"Everything's fine, Dawn's ok, Angel's talking to Wesley." Willow answered.

On the phone, Wesley told Angel, "I've got some things I can look to for mentions of something like your situation."

Angel was about to thank him when suddenly a giant snake crashed through the window. Angel dropped the phone and pulled Dawn and Buffy to the ground. "Angel?" Doyle's voice called. "What was that crash?"

Angel grabbed the phone. "I'm gonna have to call you back." He shouted, and hung up.

The snake looked around the room and stopped at Dawn. She screamed. The snake looked triumphant and left as quickly as it had come. Buffy and Angel locked eyes and knew they were thinking the same thing: it was going to tell her that Dawn was the Key.

"Giles!" Buffy shouted, and she ran out of the shop with Angel and Giles right behind her. "Angel, stay with Dawn!"

"No! Dawn's not going to be in any danger unless that thing gets to the woman to tell her she's the Key, so the snake is my priority!" Angel shouted back. Buffy didn't argue.

They jumped in Giles's car. "Hurry!" Buffy cried. "He's going to tell Glory!"

"Glory?" Giles asked as they sped off.

"That's what the…thing…called her." Buffy explained. Angel could see the snake in the distance.

"That way!" he yelled. They drove after it as fast as they could. Finally it turned off the road. Buffy and Angel jumped out of the car and ran after it across a grassy area, towards a building. They caught up with it, and they both jumped on its back.

"I'll take its head, you take its tail!" Buffy shouted. Angel nodded and pulled out a knife he had hidden in his coat (he often was carrying hidden weapons; better safe than sorry). He plunged it into the snake's back. The snake flailed around, sending Angel flying off and crashing into a tree.

"Ow." He groaned. He looked up and saw Buffy strangling the snake. After a few moments it fell limp. Angel sighed, relived, but it was too soon. The snake wasn't dead yet. Angel jumped up and ran to help. He picked up his knife and slashed at its face. Buffy punched it again and again. It fell limp again. Angel was certain this time: it was dead.

Buffy kept punching though, until she slid to her knees in tears. Angel knew why she was crying. He gently took her hands and pulled her into his arms. "It's ok." He whispered. "It's ok."

**000000ooooooo0000000**

Buffy and Angel had brought Dawn to the hospital to see Joyce. Buffy walked out of Joyce's room and told Dawn to go in. Then she looked at Angel. "Did Wesley know anything helpful?"

Angel shook his head. "No. He said he's call if he found something. But don't worry about that right now, ok? Go be with your family."

Buffy smiled and kissed him. "Thanks." She walked back into Joyce's room.

Angel smiled too and sat down in a chair. A minute later, however, Dawn appeared in the doorway. "Angel, what are you doing?"

Angel was surprised. "Um…waiting. It is a waiting room."

"Well, stop waiting. Get in here."

"Dawnie, it's a time for your family right now. I'll be out here."

Dawn rolled her eyes. "Buffy was right, you're impossible. You are part of the family now, Angel. Family time includes you. Now Buffy says to come in before she drags you."

Even though both Buffy and Dawn and even Joyce had said it so many times before, it finally hit Angel as he went to be with Buffy: he was part of a family.

**Did you like the end? I like the end. Also, what about the call to L.A.? I promise you'll hear from both them and Oz again in the future, and who knows, they might even appear in person (hint, hint). I hope to get the next chapter (Listening to Fear) on by tomorrow but I really can't promise anything. I definitely won't make you wait as long as you waited for this one, though. Please review! **


	9. Listening to Fear

**Chapter/episode 9: Listening to Fear. **

**I would just like to say that I WAS READY TO POST THIS YESTERDAY. It's not my fault it didn't get on until today. It wouldn't upload to the website. This made me very mad, and I tried two seperate times last night and it didn't work. So as soon as I got home from school today I tried and now it's working. So just for the sake of getting credit for finishing it...it was done. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Buffy in any way, shape, or form. **

Buffy, Angel, and Dawn were with Joyce at the hospital. Dawn was sitting with Joyce on the bed, and Buffy and Angel were sitting in a couple of chairs at the foot of the bed. Angel had a notebook and pencil in his lap. "What are you guys doing?" Dawn asked. "Slayer stuff?"

"Nope." Buffy replied. "Wedding stuff."

"Oh, good." Joyce said, smiling. "What have you decided?"

"Well, Angel said he would be willing to have a church wedding since he has the ring of Amarra and stuff, but I think I'd rather get married in the park at night. I don't want anything there that could burn him, ring or no. And then we thought we could have the reception at the mansion." Buffy said.

"The only worry I have about the park at night thing is that vampires will during the wedding." Angel said, frowning.

"I think we can take any vamp stupid enough to attack our wedding."

"Stupid?"

"Yeah! Angel, come on. This is the Slayer's wedding to Angelus, one of the most feared vampires of all time. Plus there will be well known demon fighters in attendance. Who'd be stupid enough to attack us?"

"Point taken."

"I think it sounds nice." Dawn said. She frowned. "The wedding in the park, not being attacked by vampires."

The door opened and the doctor walked in. "Hello Joyce." He said.

"Hi Doctor. Um, you know my girls, Dawn and Buffy, and Buffy's fiancé Angel." Joyce said.

"Yes." The doctor said. "You guys are becoming part of the regular crew around here."

"Just keeping her company." Buffy said.

"That's good. Just make sure you don't wear her out."

Joyce sighed. "Oh, don't worry about that. I woke up exhausted, there's really no more exhausted to get."

"Well maybe some good news will help." The doctor said. "The blood work's come back from the lab and everything looks good, so we should be able to operate in just a couple of days."

"That's good." Angel said, smiling at the others.

"I was wondering," Joyce said, "If I could spend time at home until the operation instead of staying here."

The doctor hesitated, and Angel could tell they weren't going to like the answer. "I wouldn't recommend it." The doctor said finally.

"Why can't she come home?" Buffy asked.

"I don't see why I have to spend time in this little hospital room just waiting for surgery for days." Joyce said hotly.

"Joyce, there's no reason to get upset-" the doctor began.

"Oh, I must just think there is because of my _brain tumor!_" Joyce yelled. The room fell silent. Dawn looked uncomfortably at the ground. "Sorry." Joyce said quietly.

"Dawnie, come on." Angel said, standing up. "Let's find something to eat." He led her out of the room. They walked down the hallway, Dawn silent and looking at the floor. "I'm sorry you had to hear that." Angel said finally.

"It's ok." Dawn replied.

"I know this is hard, Dawnie." Angel said quietly. "I understand how you feel."

"How could you?" Dawn hissed at him, suddenly angry. "You killed your parents!"

Angel stepped back in surprise. Suddenly, he was very glad there was no one else in the hallway. Her comment stung, but he understood where the anger she felt was coming from so he didn't get mad. Dawn looked guilty, however. "Sorry." She said. "That was out of line."

"No, it's true." Angel said. "I did."

"It's just…" Dawn sighed. "Buffy seems so…ok with it. I mean, has she even cried?"

"Dawn." Angel said sharply, startling Dawn. She noted how he got angrier when she insulted Buffy than when she insulted him. "You have to understand that Buffy's being strong, keeping it together, for you. But inside she's hurting just as much as you are. She cries when no one's around to see her."

"Except you."

Angel almost smiled. "Well yeah, but that's a given."

**0000000ooooooo0000000**

They had convinced the doctor to let them bring Joyce home before the operation. Buffy and Dawn were getting her from the hospital and bringing her home. Angel would meet them at home soon, but Buffy had asked him to check with the Scoobies first. And it was a good thing he had, because Willow and Tara had seen something fall from the sky.

Angel, Giles, Willow, Tara, Xander, Anya, and Riley went to investigate. Angel looked around the area where it had fallen. "Something was here." He said. "Something was in the rock over there, but it's gone."

"There's slime all over." Riley said, looking at the comet that had been broken open.

"Why do we have to worry about the killer snot-monster?" Xander whined.

"Because it's a killer snot-monster from outer space…I did not say that." Giles added quickly, frowning.

"We have to track this thing." Willow said slowly.

"I can track it." Angel said. He sniffed the air. "I'm good at that. I might bring Spike for help, but the two of us can probably find it easy."

"Do you want us to help?" Tara asked.

Angel shook his head. "We can take care of it."

"You better not be expecting Buffy to come along and help." Riley said angrily.

"Of course not." Angel snapped. "_Spike and I _can handle it. You, go home."

Riley growled as Angel turned to leave. He turned and marched off in the opposite direction. When he was sure he was out of even the vampire's range of hearing, he pulled out his phone. "Graham." He said. "I need your help."

**0000000ooooooo0000000**

Angel had gotten Spike, and the two of them were trying to track the monster. They were following the scent (Angel took Spike back to the comet's landing site so he would know what it smelled like), trying to figure out where it had gone.

"So, um, how's Buffy?" Spike asked. Angel glanced at him, surprised that he was attempting to make small talk.

"She's ok. It's been hard on her, with her mother, but she's getting through it."

"That's good." Spike replied. "And you?"

"And me what?"

"How are you?"

Angel blinked and stared at him. "Um…who are you and what have you done with Spike?"

Spike rolled his eyes. "Just trying to be friendly. I thought since we were working together we might as well attempt to talk other than arguing."

Angel sighed. He had a point. "I'm good." He hesitated. "What about you?"

"Good." Spike said. There was a very awkward silence. Then Spike said, "Am I invited to the wedding?"

A smile flickered across Angel's face. "That's for me to know and you to find out."

"Oh, come on, Angel."

"I'm not saying anything. You're just going to have to wait and see."

"Well-wait." Spike held up his hand and sniffed the air. "It spent a lot of time here."

Angel looked up. "At the hospital?" he asked.

"Yes."

Angel nodded slowly. "Yeah, you're right, it was here…but it's not anymore. It left. This way!" he ran down the street. Spike followed.

"It came down this street." Spike said.

"And then it turned this way…" Angel continued. They followed the scent through town until Angel stopped.

Spike looked at him. "What is it?" he asked.

"Either I'm crazy or…you do realize where this is leading us, don't you?" Angel asked.

Spike thought for a moment, and then he looked alarmed. "Oh no."

"Buffy." The said at the same time, and then they ran down the street as fast as they could to Buffy's house.

"We should go in through the back!" Angel yelled. Spike nodded and they ran around the house to the back door. Angel ripped the door open and they ran inside. There was a shriek of surprise and a crashing sound. Both vampires looked and saw Buffy standing by the sink, looking very startled and rather wet. She was cleaning the dishes, and the crash had been the sound of her dropping a pot to the floor. Angel looked her in the eyes and saw she'd been crying, and he knew why, but he didn't have time to comfort her now. They'd talk later.

"What are you guys doing here?" she hissed. "You nearly gave me a heart attack!"

"Where your mom? Where's Dawn?" Angel asked.

"Upstairs, why?"

"There's something here. We tracked it to the house."

Buffy looked worried. "Like a demon."

"Maybe." Angel sighed.

"It came from outer space." Spike added helpfully.

"Outer space?" Buffy repeated.

"Yeah." Angel told her. "We're not sure what it is, exactly. Willow and Tara saw it fall from the sky."

"Am I invited to the wedding?" Spike asked Buffy randomly. Angel glared at him. Buffy just gave him a look. "What?" he cried. "Peaches here won't tell me."

Buffy sighed. "Ok, we have to find this thing before it hurts Dawn or Mom."

Suddenly there was a scream from upstairs. Buffy, Angel, and Spike all raced for the stairs. Angel ran ahead into the hallway, and came tumbling back a moment later with some kind of demon on top of him. The two of them went rolling down the steps. Buffy and Spike jumped out of the way. "Wow." Spike said. "Ugly thing."

"Little…help…please?" Angel growled from the floor. Buffy and Spike grabbed the demon from behind and pulled it off Angel. It wrestled out of their grip and scurried away.

"It's fast." Spike commented.

"Where did it go?" Buffy asked frantically, looking around the dark room.

The front door suddenly opened and Riley came running in. "Buffy-"

"Riley, get out of here." Buffy said. "There's a-"

Spike gave a strangled yell suddenly and Angel saw the demon grab hold of him. "There!" Angel yelled, and he rushed towards Spike with Buffy and Riley behind him. Angel tackled Spike to the ground and ripped the demon off his back. It fought him, but he wrestled with it on the ground. "Somebody get something to kill it with!" he gasped as he fought with it. Buffy ran to her weapons cabinet and pulled out an axe. She hurried back and swung at the demon, chopping it in half. It became still. It was dead. Angel relaxed. Spike helped him up. "Thanks. Are you ok?"

"Yeah." Spike said. "I'm fine. You?"

"Fine." Angel said. He looked down at the corpse of the demon. "What do we do with it?"

"I'll take it." Riley said. The others stared at him.

"You want the dead demon?" Buffy asked.

"I'll get rid of it for you." Riley clarified. He picked it up.

"Right." Spike said. "Well, this has been fun but I think I'll go home now. See you later." He walked towards the door.

"Show Riley out while you're at it, will you?" Angel called after him, glaring at Riley. Riley scowled at him. Spike came back, grabbed Riley by the back of his shirt, and dragged him towards the door. Angel had to grin. "See you later!" he called. Once they were gone, he turned to Buffy. "I have a strong urge to laugh." He admitted.

Buffy laughed, and then her laughter turned to tears. She buried her face into his shirt and cried. He embraced her comfortingly. Then he heard Dawn's voice. "Guys?"

Buffy immediately pulled away from Angel and wiped her eyes. "What is it Dawn?" she called, managing to keep her voice steady.

Dawn appeared on the stairs. "What happened? There was this thing upstairs and then…"

"We took care of it." Buffy said, forcing a smile. "Don't worry."

"Go back to bed Dawn, it's late." Angel said. Dawn nodded and went back upstairs. Once she was gone, he brought Buffy upstairs to their room. As soon as he shut the door she broke down into sobs. Angel kissed her. They got ready and slipped into bed, where Buffy curled up in his arms and cried until she fell asleep.

**0000000ooooooo0000000**

**The Next Morning**

They took Joyce to the hospital, where she was immediately prepped for surgery. Willow, Xander, Riley, and Giles came to be with them while Joyce had her surgery. Buffy went to talk her right before the operation. Angel waited outside the room.

Buffy came out first. She turned to Angel. "She knows." She said. "About Dawn. She knows. I didn't tell her, she just knew."

Angel nodded and kissed her. "Don't worry about that right now." He whispered.

Joyce left the room next in her bed. She waved to Buffy and gave her a small smiled before she disappeared behind a door. Buffy squeezed Angel's hand and whimpered. He put his arm around her a led her to the others. Dawn sat in a chair next to them. Everybody just sat and waited.

**Next chapter: Into the Woods. Riley's last episode, and I've got some extra stuff planned. Should be fun. Please review!**


	10. Into the Woods

**Chapter/episode 10: Into the Woods. I really like this chapter, which is funny because I never cared for this episode much. But I really like my version.**

**Yes, this is the second chapter today! Two chapters in one day is a very rare treat and don't expect it often. But I decided to put it up because it was done and it would have been up today anyway if I had gotten Listening to Fear up yesterday, which I wanted to (still mad about that). Also, I still feel guilty about the long gap between Fool for Love and Shadow. So yes, here is your second chapter for the day. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Buffy. God, I'm tired of saying that.**

Buffy had her head rested on Angel's shoulder. Dawn was asleep with her head in Buffy's lap. Riley was sitting on the other side of Dawn. Willow and Xander were sitting next to each other across from Buffy. Giles was sitting off to the side. They were all waiting for Joyce to come out of surgery.

"I'm scared." Buffy whispered to Angel.

"I know." Angel replied.

"It's been such a long time."

"It doesn't mean anything."

"You think so?"

"Yeah. I'd be more worried if your mom was out quickly. It'd probably mean they couldn't do much."

Buffy sighed. Then she sat up and grabbed Angel's hand. The doctor was coming. Buffy shook Dawn to wake her. Everybody stood up. Buffy walked up in front of everyone, holding Angel's hand, and met the doctor. "Well?" she said.

"The surgery was a success. You're mother is doing fine."

Everybody cheered. Dawn threw her arms around Angel. Buffy ran forward and hugged the doctor. After a moment he started to look uncomfortable. "Buffy, honey, you're hurting him." Angel said.

"Oh." Buffy let go. "Sorry." She turned to Angel. He grinned at her. She laughed and ran into his arms. "She's ok." She cried happily. Angel spun her around and kissed her.

**Los Angeles, the next day**

"Doyle!" Cordelia burst into the hotel that they ran Paranormal Investigations out of. She had an envelope clutched in her hand. She ran up to Doyle at the desk. "Did you get one?" she asked him excitedly.

"Yes. Did you know about this?"

"No! I can't believe it! Well actually I can, we all knew it would happen, but still!"

Gunn suddenly hurried inside. "You guys got them too, right?"

"Yeah." Doyle said. "It's so exciting!" he kissed Cordelia and grinned. "Wait until Wesley-"

He was cut off by Wesley running inside. He had an envelope like Cordelia's in his hand. "Can you believe it?" he cried.

"I know!" Cordelia squealed. "This is so exciting!"

"We have to call them." Doyle said.

"Of course." Gunn agreed. "We just talked to them, they never brought it up?"

"Well they were a little busy." Doyle pointed out.

"I'll call them." Cordelia said excitedly, grabbing the phone.

"Put it on speaker." Wesley told her. He put his envelope on the counter. He looked at it again and grinned.

It was a wedding invitation.

**00000000ooooooo0000000**

Angel had made breakfast for both Buffy and Dawn. Joyce had to stay at the hospital for a couple more days, for recovery. They'd visit her later that day. Angel joined the girls at the kitchen table. "Angel, this is really good." Dawn said.

"I told you he was a good cook." Buffy said. She kissed Angel on the cheek. The phone rang. "I'll get it." Buffy said. She stood up and answered the phone. "Hello?"

"BUFFY!"

It was so loud that even Dawn could hear it from across the room without any supernaturally increased hearing like Angel. Buffy threw the phone in the air in surprise and had to catch it. Angel laughed. She stuck her tongue out at him and carefully returned the phone to her ear. "Um…Cordelia?"

"Yes, it's me! The others are here too."

"It's great to hear from you. What's up?"

"Well, Buffy, do you know what we all received in the mail today?"

Buffy giggled. "Oh, is that what this is about?"

"Yes! We all got invitations to your wedding. You never said anything about getting married."

"Well when we saw you in the summer we weren't telling anyone yet." Buffy said, smirking. The reaction was just as she expected.

"_What?_" four voices chorused together. Buffy laughed. Angel grinned and looked at Dawn, who was smiling.

"You mean you were already engaged when you were here over the summer?" Wesley asked.

"Yep." Buffy replied, grinning at Angel.

"You're both very evil." Cordelia said.

"That's harsh, Cordy." Buffy said teasingly. Angel stood up and took the phone from Buffy.

"So can I assume from this reaction that we should expect you at the wedding this summer?" he asked.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world." Doyle replied.

"Yeah, we'll be there." Gunn added.

"Good." Angel said, pleased. "Talk to you later." He handed the phone back to Buffy.

"We've got to go." Wesley said.

"Ok. Bye guys." Buffy said, and hung up. She turned to Dawn and Angel. "They're fun." She said. Dawn laughed.

**00000000oooooooo0000000**

Riley unlocked the door to his apartment and walked inside, his mail under his arm. He sighed. He'd been out all night letting the vampire's drink off him. He couldn't explain how he had fallen into this habit that he knew was awful. But he loved the rush he got off of it. It was really the only way he was dealing with Buffy being engaged to Angel. The woman he loved was marrying a vampire. Anger and hurt boiled inside him at the very thought.

He started going through his mail. Junk, bill, letter from his mother, junk, and the last thing in the pile was from Buffy. He opened it, and his heart sank. It was an invitation to Buffy and Angel's wedding. He ripped it in two and threw the pieces in the trash.

Oh, he'd still go to the wedding. He'd go and pretend to be all happy and supportive for Buffy. Because he was determined to be a good friend to her. And when Angel left her (which, in his opinion, was definitely going to happen eventually), he'd be right there for her. Eventually she'd see that she belonged with him, not with that vampire.

Riley sighed miserably. He had a feeling that once night came, he'd have to go out and let the vampire's drink again. He had been planning to stay in that night, but that didn't sound good anymore.

**0000000ooooooo0000000**

All the Scoobies, Buffy and Angel included, were at the Magic Box. Dawn was at school. Willow and Tara were gushing over Buffy and the invitations, which they had all received that day. Willow had found the story of the phone call from L.A. very funny.

After they'd been talking for a while, Buffy suddenly said, "Angel."

Angel, who had been helping Giles sort through some books, looked up. "What?"

"I know who we forgot."

Angel looked confused. "Who…what?"

"You promised to call Oz when we had sent out the invitations, remember?"

"Right!" Angel cried, standing up. "I should do that." He pulled out his phone and walked into the back training room, which was empty and quiet. He dialed Oz's number.

"Hello?" Oz's voice said a minute later.

"Oz, hi. It's Angel."

"Hey Angel. What's up?"

"Well I promised to let you know when the invitations were out, so…"

"Oh, thanks. And congrats on setting a date and such. So tell me, when should I be in town?"

"Not for a while, it's still a ways off." He told Oz the date.

"Great. I promise I'll be there." Oz said. "I should probably go."

"Yeah, me too. We've got Scooby stuff. I'll talk to you later."

"Totally. Bye." They hung up. Angel returned to the others.

In the short time Angel had been gone, Dawn had returned from school. She was taking out her homework at the table. Buffy was up talking to Giles at the counter. Anya was helping a customer. Xander and Riley appeared to be arguing about something. Willow and Tara were helping Dawn with her homework. Angel smiled and went to join Buffy and Giles.

A few hours later, it was starting to get dark. Riley stood up. "I'm going home." He said.

"Really?" Buffy asked in surprise. "It's still early."

"Yeah, I'm tired." Riley sighed as he headed towards the door.

"Ok. Bye!" Buffy called after him. She turned to Angel and Dawn. "How about we visit Mom before heading home?"

Angel nodded, but he was watching Riley suspiciously as he walked away. Something was up with that boy.

**0000000ooooooo0000000**

Buffy and Angel were both asleep when a noise in their room woke them both. They looked at each other. Angel frowned and sat up, and then yelled, "Spike!"

"Spike?" Buffy asked. She sat up too and saw the blond vampire standing in their room. "Spike, what are you doing in our bedroom?"

"Believe me, pet, I'd rather not be." Spike said. "But I've found something I think you might want to see."

Buffy looked at the clock. "At 1:30 in the morning?"

"Well, yeah. It's about your friend Riley."

Buffy's face darkened. She looked at Angel. Before she could say anything, Angel said, "Yes, I'll stay here and look after Dawn. You go with Spike."

"Thanks." Buffy said. She kissed him and got up to get dressed.

**An hour later**

Angel was waiting in the living room for Buffy to come back. She came through the door and sat down next to him wordlessly. She looked furious.

"What happened?" Angel asked. "What did Spike know about Riley? Or was it all a trick?"

"Oh, it was no trick." Buffy said. "Spike was out when he saw Riley sneaking around in one of the more vampire filled parts of town. It seemed weird to Spike, so he followed him." She stamped the ground angrily with her foot. "Riley's been going to vampire junkies and allowing them to feed of him for the adrenaline rush. Apparently he's been doing it for weeks."

"What?" Angel cried. He had to admit, he was surprised. He knew Riley was an idiot, but he didn't think the commando was that stupid. He though Riley knew better than to do anything like that.

"It's all my fault!" Buffy groaned.

"No it isn't." Angel told her. "Riley's the one stupid enough to do it."

"No, I mean it, it's all my fault!"

"What makes you think so?"

"He told me. After Spike showed him to me, I confronted him. We both got pretty mad at each other. I told him what he was doing was stupid and dangerous and all that stuff, and he told me that he was doing it because of me. That he had gotten so upset over me and you that he was driven to that."

Angel put his arm around her. "So maybe he was upset over you. That still doesn't make it your fault. If he was depressed, he could have done stuff that normal people do. Safe stuff to help him feel better. He was the one who chose to do the really dangerous thing. It wasn't your fault, Buffy."

"Well I didn't help!" Buffy yelled. "And come to think of it, you haven't either! You know, I hadn't thought about it before, but when he almost had a heart attack, we found out because Dawn heard his heart through the stethoscope. But you can hear people's hearts, can't you? So why didn't you know?"

Angel hesitated. "It wasn't that I knew and didn't say anything. You know I wouldn't do that. I hate him, but I wouldn't have just sat back and watch him die. I just…to hear something like heart beats you have to pay attention, really listen to what you hear, and…"

"And you never paid enough attention to notice." Buffy finished for him. "Of course you didn't. You never gave him a chance, Angel."

Angel stood up. "What does that mean?"

Buffy stood up too. "It means that if it had been any other member of the scoobies, even Xander, you would have noticed. But Riley was just never worth your time."

"Are you blaming Riley's problems on me?" Angel asked, starting to get angry. "Because I don't make a habit of being friends with someone who constantly tries to steal my girlfriend! Not to mention he doesn't like me, either! I seem to recall he was willing to kill me when he first found out I was a vampire!"

"You tried to kill him first!"

"Because I thought he had gotten you killed!"

They were shouting now. Dawn had crept out of her room and was crouching on the stairs, but neither of them had noticed. She was watching with wide eyes. She had never seen them fight like this before.

"I suppose you think it's funny that he's gotten himself into this mess." Buffy snapped.

"No, I don't! I may not like him, but I don't think anyone should sink this low, not even him!" Angel retorted.

"You know, a lot of people thought I would be better off with Riley! A lot of people though I should have left you to be with him. And maybe they were right! Maybe I should have fallen in love with Riley and forgotten all about you!"

"Fine! Go off and be with Captain Cardboard! Maybe the two of you can go let vampires drink your blood together!"

"Oh, you'd love that, wouldn't you? I bet you'd have a good laugh about that!"

Angel was hurt by the idea that he'd be happy about her getting hurt, but he tried not to show it. "You were the one who wanted me to stay with! Maybe I should have left after your graduation. Maybe we'd both be happier."

"Maybe we would."

"Are you telling me to leave?"

"I don't know. Are you leaving?"

"I was the one there for you!" Angel yelled, changing the subject. "Riley never was. I was there for you through everything! I watched you cry and I comforted you-"

"And now that's time you're never going to get back, I suppose!" Buffy cut him off. "Maybe I should go and be with Riley. Maybe everyone who told me getting involved with a vampire was trouble was right. Maybe this isn't working."

"I don't have to do this." Angel growled, moving past her towards the door.

"You know, when we bound your soul, I told Angelus you were a better man than he was." Buffy said. Angel turned back to her, and angry glint in his eye. "Was I wrong?" Buffy asked. "Was I wrong, Angelus?" She hit him, causing him to stumble back. He just glared at her and stormed out, slamming the door behind him.

Buffy turned angrily towards the stairs. "God, he's such a…Dawn?"

Dawn stood up. Her eyes were huge and she looked pale. She ran up to her room without a word.

**0000000ooooooo0000000**

**The Next Morning**

Angel woke up in the mansion, where he had spent the rest of the night. He was dazed for a moment and wondered where Buffy was, until he remembered their fight last night.

He swore and got up. The mansion was mostly empty, just a few things they'd left in the hope of coming back for a night away once and a while.

He felt terrible. The things he and Buffy had said to each other last night…it was horrible. He hadn't meant the insults he'd shouted at her. Had she meant the things she'd said? Would she rather be with Riley?

He sat down on the couch and groaned. "Now what?" he said to himself. Did he go talk to Buffy or should he wait for her to come to him? In the end he decided to wait a little while. She had a lot of stuff to get through, and when she wanted to talk she always came to talk. If he went first she wouldn't be ready yet and he'd make things worse. So he'd wait.

But at the same time, he couldn't just sit there and do nothing. He really couldn't. He had to find something to do for a while at least. Finally, he picked up the phone and dialed a number.

"Hello?" a voice on the other end said.

"Oz." Angel sighed. "It's Angel…again."

"Oh, hi. That was…fast."

"Yes, yes it was."

"Are you ok?" Oz asked, sounding concerned. "You sound upset."

"I think I stopped being ok sometime between the shouting match I had with Buffy last night and me storming out of the house."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"What happened?"

**0000000ooooooo0000000**

Buffy walked into the Magic Box. "Buffy!" Willow said cheerfully. Then she frowned. "You look terrible."

"Thanks a lot, Will."

"No! I mean…is everything ok?"

"No." Buffy said shortly. "Does anybody know where Riley is?"

"Probably at his apartment." Xander said. "Why?"

"I have to talk to him." Buffy sighed, heading for the door again.

"Buffy, what's wrong?" Xander asked with concern.

Buffy lost it a little. "I don't know, Xander! Maybe it's the fact that we have demon woman we can't fight! Maybe it's the fact my mom's in the hospital! Maybe it's because one of my close friends is letting vampires feed of him! Or maybe it's because my fiancé and I aren't speaking! Take your pick!" she slammed the door behind her.

"Ok, she's in a bad mood." Xander said.

"Riley's letting vampires feed off him?" Giles asked.

"She and Angel aren't speaking?" Willow said worriedly with a frown.

**0000000oooooooo00000000**

Buffy did find Riley in his apartment. "Go away, Buffy." Riley said when he saw her.

"No." Buffy said. "I won't go away. We need to talk, Riley."

"I think we did that already."

"I was mad. Well, I'm still mad, but I want to help you."

"I don't want your help." Riley told her. "I don't need the help of someone who really doesn't care."

"I do care!"

"They want me back, Buffy!" Riley shouted suddenly. "The Military. And I'm going, too, unless you give me a reason to stay."

Buffy was horrified. "No! Riley, you can't go back to them! Don't you remember what happened?"

"I'm going." Riley said firmly. "Tonight. I'll be picked up in the park. Unless I find a reason to stay." He slammed the door in her face.

**0000000ooooooo0000000**

Buffy had not had a good day. She still hadn't spoken to Angel, she didn't know what to do about Riley, and Dawn didn't want to talk to her. Her life really sucked about now.

She left Dawn at home and went to patrol. For the first time in a long time, she'd be on her own while doing it. It was pretty uneventful, which didn't help because she'd been hoping for a fight to distract her.

She was walking home when she ran into Xander, of all people. "Hi Xander." She sighed.

"Buffy, I've been looking for you." Xander said.

"Why? Did something happen?"

"No. But I heard about Riley leaving."

Buffy sighed. "Oh. That. Yeah."

"Are you going to stop him?"

"How can I? I know what he wants. He wants me to love him. I don't."

"Well yeah, I know that." Xander said. "But Buffy, you can't just let him go. I'm not suggesting you dump Angel for him. I accepted the fact that we're stuck with Deadboy a long time ago. But he is your friend, Buffy. Are you just going to let your friend run off with the Military?"

Buffy looked at him. "You think I should ask him to stay?"

"Yeah, I think you should try."

"You're right." Buffy said. "Thanks, Xander."

"Go." Xander said. "He'll be leaving soon. Go!"

Buffy ran as fast as she could across town to the park. She saw the helicopter lift off the ground just as she got there. The sound was defining. "RILEY!" Buffy screamed. He couldn't hear her. "RILEY!" she screamed again. He still couldn't hear her. A moment later, he was gone.

**0000000ooooooo0000000**

Angel quietly walked inside the house. He knew Buffy would be on patrol. They still hadn't talked, and he wouldn't push. He just wanted to get some of his stuff. Like clothes, for example.

He hurried upstairs to their room and grabbed a couple of things. He was about leave when he heard someone say, "Angel?"

Angel whirled around and saw Dawn. "Dawn." He sighed. He put his stuff down. "What are you doing here?"

"I live here."

"I know, but I thought you'd be with your mom or at the magic shop or something while Buffy was patrolling."

"Nope. She left me here."

Angel was surprised. "Really?"

"You don't have to sound so surprised." Dawn mumbled.

"Sorry."

Dawn eyes his box of things. "Are you moving out?" she asked. "Are you and Buffy breaking up?"

Angel sighed. "I hope not, Dawnie. I suppose you heard us last night."

"I saw you last night. I was in the stairs."

Angel flinched. "Sorry you had to see that."

"It was kind of scary." She admitted. "I mean, I've seen people fight before. Mom and Dad used to do it all the time. But you guys…I've never seen you guys like that. I've never seen you get so angry at each other."

"It doesn't happen often." Angel said. "I'm sorry we scared you."

"Angel?" Buffy appeared in the hallway. Angel met her eyes. She swallowed hard, and her eyes flickered to the box on the floor. Then she burst into tears. "I'm so sorry!" she sobbed. "I'm s-so s-sorry!" she repeated. Angel stepped forward and she fell into his arms. She buried her face in his shoulder. "I'm sorry." She whispered.

"I'm sorry too." Angel said soothingly. He looked at Dawn. "I think it's time for bed, isn't it?"

"Yeah." Dawn said, smiling a little. "See you in the morning."

Angel brought Buffy into the bedroom. "I'm sorry." He said quietly.

"He's gone." Buffy said.

"What?"

"Riley. He's gone." She told him what happened. Angel sat down and she curled up in his lap.

"I'm sorry about Riley." Angel said.

"I'm sorry about everything. Oh, god." She said suddenly. "I called you Angelus. Oh, Angel-"

"Shh, sweetie." Angel soothed. "It's ok."

"Never leave me." Buffy whispered.

"I won't." Angel replied. "I promise."

**00000000oooooooo00000000**

**The Next Day…**

Spike was watching _Passions _in his crypt when he heard someone outside. He turned the TV off and stood up. "If you're a demon I will kill you." He called. There was no answer. "Angel?" Spike guessed. "Buffy?"

There was no reply, but something was pushed under the door. Spike heard footsteps walk away. He picked up the piece of paper, looked at it, and grinned.

"What do you know." He said. "Turns out I was invited after all."

**Phew! That was…lengthy. But it was good, right? You guys liked it, right? Plus two chapters in one day, not bad. Next chapter is Triangle, which is a hilarious episode. Please review!**


	11. Triangle

**Chapter/episode 11: Triangle.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

Buffy, Angel, Willow, Tara, Xander, Anya, and Giles were meeting at the Magic Box. Giles would be going to England the next day to see the Watchers Council about Glory. "Normally, I wouldn't want to get involved with them, but we've run out of options." Giles told them. "They have resources we don't, and they might be able to get information on her. We've exhausted my books, and Wesley in L.A. has looked through everything he has and has found nothing."

"I agree." Buffy sighed. "I'm not excited about going to the Watchers Council but we're getting desperate."

"Desperate times call for desperate measures." Angel agreed.

"I'll only be gone for a few days." Giles said.

"And I'm in charge of the Magic Box while you're gone, right?" Anya asked eagerly.

Giles hesitated. He clearly hadn't thought about it until that moment, and he didn't look too excited about the idea of letting Anya run the magic shop by herself. Angel couldn't blame him. "Well," Giles said carefully, "I'm not sure…it's a lot of work for just one person."

"I could do it!" Anya insisted. "Xander, tell him!"

"She can take care of it, Giles." Xander said.

"We'll help her." Willow added.

"I don't need your help!" Anya cried. "I work here, you don't!"

"I think what Willow means," Angel said quickly, hoping to avoid a fight, "is that if anything bad happens, we'll be here to help."

"Well actually I meant-" Willow began, but Tara elbowed her and she fell silent.

"Everything will be fine, Giles." Buffy promised, giving him a smile. "It's just a few days. It'll be fine."

**0000000oooooo0000000**

**A few days later**

Angel walked into the Magic Box and found Anya, Willow, Tara, and Xander. "Hey Angel." Tara said.

"Where's Buffy?" Xander asked.

"She's got class. What's going on here?" Angel asked, looking at the magic stuff spread across the table.

"We're trying to do a spell to help Buffy on patrol." Willow explained. "It's a ball of sunlight so she can burn the vamps, even at night."

"Oh, that's a good idea." Angel said. "How's it going?"

"Still a work in progress. But we're getting there."

"She's taking the supplies from the shop!" Anya cried. "You have to pay for those!"

"Giles wouldn't mind." Willow said.

"I'm in charge of the shop while he's in England." Anya said. "You have to pay for those. Xander, back me up. Who's right?"

Xander looked panicked as both Anya and Willow looked at him expectantly. "Well…it's not a matter of…girls…I've got to go." He started for the door.

"Xander!" Anya yelled. "You can't just leave!"

"You know what?" Xander yelled back. "I can! I don't want to be in the middle of you two anymore! Figure it out for yourselves!" he stormed out. Angel was impressed. He didn't think Xander was brave enough to yell at them.

"Tara?" Willow said, rounding on her girlfriend. Tara looked very uncomfortable.

"Oh, look." She said, glancing at her watch. "I have to go to class. Bye!" she ran out of the shop as fast as she could.

Willow and Anya both turned to Angel. Angel took a nervous step back. "Um…I've got to go to…I've just got to go." He ran after Tara and Xander.

They were both outside. "I was wondering if you'd get out." Xander said.

"Don't doubt my running away skills." Angel responded. "So now what?"

"I really do have class." Tara said. "Buffy and I are taking a class together. I'll see you guys later." She left.

Angel and Xander looked at each other. "Anything's better than in there." Angel said.

"I'm going to the Bronze. You can come if you want."

"Let's go."

**0000000ooooooo0000000**

Xander and Angel were at the Bronze, and had just gotten food and drinks when they ran into Spike. Spike looked at them. "I never thought I'd see the two of you together willingly."

"And I never thought I'd be talking to you in a way that didn't involve exchanging death threats." Angel said. "Miracles happen every day."

"That's true." Spike agreed. "So what brings you two here?"

"I'm hiding." Xander said. "He's just got nothing to do."

"Where's Buffy?"

"School." Angel answered.

"Oh." They were all quiet for a minute. Then Spike said, "You know, Peaches, I bet I could beat you at pool."

Angel raised his eyebrows. "Really?"

"Yeah."

"I don't think so."

"Want to find out?"

"You're on."

They went to one of the pool tables and Angel and Spike started playing, Xander watching from the side. "So who are you hiding from?" Spike asked, glancing at Xander.

Xander sighed. "My girlfriend."

"Oh yeah, of course. Why?"

"She and Willow were arguing and wanted him to settle it for them." Angel answered for him. "Your turn, Spike."

"They're always doing that." Xander said. "They're always arguing about something and want me to decide who's right. And that puts a ton of pressure on me because then I have to choose between my girlfriend and my best friend, which isn't fun, and then whoever I don't pick gets mad at me. You're lucky, Angel, none of Buffy's friends like you enough to put you in that position."

Angel gave him a look. "Thanks, Xander. That makes me feel so much better."

"And you know," Xander went on, "sometimes Willow will give me this look like 'Really? Her?'"

"Yeah, I know that look." Spike said. "A lot of people never really got Dru."

"Well she was insane." Angel pointed out.

"Yeah." Spike said wistfully. Angel and Xander both stared at him a moment.

"I win." Angel said a minute later.

"Damn." Spike sighed. "Rematch."

"No. I won."

"You were just lucky. I want a rematch."

"Guys." Xander said suddenly. "Look over there."

Angel and Spike looked in the direction Xander was pointing just in time to see a huge troll walk in. Several people screamed. The troll said, "Ale!" and went for the beer.

Angel, Spike, and Xander stared in surprise. "Huh." Angel said. "There's something you don't see every day."

The troll looked around. He walked up to them. "Do you know where I could find some babies to eat?" he asked Spike.

"Um…no, sorry." Spike said.

The troll didn't look happy. "I want to eat babies!"

"This really couldn't get weirder." Xander said as the troll went back to the beer.

Suddenly Anya and Willow ran inside. "Xander!" Anya cried.

"Have you guys seen a troll?" Willow asked.

"You mean like the one over there?" Angel asked, pointing.

"Yep, that's him." Anya said.

"What happened?" Xander asked.

"Willow accidently released it with magic." Anya said, glaring at Willow.

"Um, why are you guys with Spike?" Willow asked.

Suddenly the troll grabbed someone by their shirt and threw them across the room. Then he picked up his giant hammer and smashed the counter. "I wish Buffy were here." Willow said worriedly.

"I'm here!" Buffy suddenly ran inside, followed closely by Tara.

Willow smiled a little. "I wish I had a million dollars." She said. Everyone stared at her. "Just checking."

"Hey!" Buffy yelled at the troll.

The troll looked at them. He suddenly looked angrier. "You!" he said, but he wasn't pointing at Buffy. He was pointing at Anya. "You are still arrogant and wicked, Anyanka! Just like when we were dating!"

Everybody turned to look at Anya. "It just got weirder." Angel muttered to Spike.

"Olaf?" Anya said.

"You went out with a troll?" Xander asked.

"Well he wasn't a troll then. He was just a fat, stinky man. And he cheated on me and I turned him into troll. Which, by the way, is how I got the job as a vengeance demon."

"You turned me into this!" Olaf the troll roared.

"Well you seem to like being a troll." Anya reasoned.

"I adjusted!" Olaf shouted. "And then I was trapped in the vase until the witch let me out! And now I'm going to kill you!" he picked up his hammer again and hit the pole holding up the second level. The level came crashing to the ground. Buffy, Angel, and Spike ran for Olaf. Olaf, however, sent all of them flying backward, smashing into the wall. Then he ran away.

"Are you ok?" Angel asked Buffy.

"I'm fine." Buffy said, getting up. "There are people over there who are hurt, though."

The whole Scooby Gang started digging people out of the rubble. Some people were pretty badly injured. "What do we do now?" Willow asked Buffy.

"We have to catch Olaf." Buffy said. "We can't let him hurt anymore people. Willow, Anya, you guys go back to the magic shop and try to find a way to put Olaf back in the vase or at least get rid of him somehow. The rest of us should split up and go look for him."

Willow nodded, grabbed Anya by the arm, and the two of them ran off. The rest of them followed, going off in different directions. Buffy and Angel walked side by side. "So you were hanging out with Xander and Spike?" Buffy asked, fighting a grin.

"It's not that funny."

"Sweetie, it's pretty funny."

"Oh, shut up."

**0000000ooooooo0000000**

Angel and Buffy were heading back to the Magic Box. They hadn't found Olaf and had no idea where he went. "Maybe Willow and Anya found something." Buffy sighed.

Angel looked at the Magic Box as they walked toward it down the street. "Buffy, something's going on in there." He said suddenly. Buffy looked too.

"It looks like…Olaf. Willow! Anya!" Buffy cried, and she ran to the shop, Angel right behind her.

They burst into the shop and found Olaf beating up not Willow or Anya but Xander. Willow was hiding behind the counter, watching as Anya tried to distract Olaf by saying stuff to annoy him. It seemed to be working; Olaf looked rather agitated.

"Oh, shut up woman!" Olaf finally yelled, dropping Xander on the floor. "After all this time you are still so annoying!"

He went for Anya but Buffy jumped in front of her. "If you want my friends, you're going to have to go through me." She said.

Angel stepped forward. "And if you want her, you'll have to get through me first."

Olaf shrugged. "That is doable." He raised his hammer, but Angel kicked it out of his hand. Olaf hit him hard in the face, and Angel stumbled back but returned with another kick, this time to the stomach.

"Buffy, get his hammer!" Anya hissed at Buffy. "His power is in the hammer!" Buffy nodded and darted past the fight to the hammer.

"So," she said, "Your power's in your hammer." She swung the hammer and hit Olaf in the head, knocking him back into the wall.

"Good job." Angel said.

"You too." Buffy replied. She dropped the hammer and they both ran at Olaf together. Olaf tried to run but Buffy grabbed him and pulled him to the ground. Angel grabbed him and smashed his head into the floor, knocking him out. Buffy sighed in relief and let go. "Are you ok, Xander?" she called.

Anya was helping Xander off the floor. "Yeah, I'll be ok.' Xander replied, wincing in pain.

Tara suddenly appeared in the doorway. She did a double take at the sight of the practically destroyed magic shop, Olaf unconscious on the floor, and Xander and Angel both bleeding. "What did I miss?" she asked.

**0000000ooooooo0000000**

Willow did a spell and Olaf disappeared in a portal. "Where did you send him?" Buffy asked.

"To the Land of the Trolls." Anya said. "He'll like it there. Lots of trolls."

"He can meet a nice ugly lady troll and they can have ugly troll babies." Angel said, causing Buffy to giggle.

"There's a Land of the Trolls?" Xander asked.

"Oh yeah." Anya said. "There are lots of different worlds."

"It's kind of hard to tell where exactly you send them, though." Willow said.

"Yes." Anya agreed. "He could end up in the Land of Perpetual Wednesday, or, you know, the Land without Shrimp."

"There's a land without shrimp?" Tara asked curiously. They all looked at her. "I-I'm allergic."

"There's also a land with nothing but shrimp." Angel said.

Buffy sighed. "We trashed the magic shop." She said. She picked up Olaf's hammer. "But we beat the troll and I got a cool new toy." She said, and set it down on the counter. A second later, the glass counter shattered under the weight of the hammer. Buffy groaned. Angel smiled and put his arm around her.

**00000000oooooooo00000000**

Giles had returned from England and was meeting Buffy, Angel, and Joyce at their house. "I shudder to think about what the shop would have looked like if I'd been gone longer." Giles said.

"Well maybe we'd of had time to clean it up." Buffy said. Giles rolled his eyes.

They all sat at the dining room table. "So what did you find out?" Joyce asked.

"You know everything about this?" Giles asked.

"Yeah, I got some myself and Buffy and Angel filled in the rest." Joyce said. "It's so hard to wrap my head around."

"It has been for all of us." Angel said.

"Do you think she suspects anything?" Joyce asked.

"No. How would you come to this conclusion on your own?" Buffy reasoned.

They continued talking, but none of them, not even Angel, knew that Dawn had been on the stairs.

**The "There also a land with nothing but shrimp" comment is based off a line from one of the season five episodes of _Angel _when Illyria is talking about all the places she's visited and says, "And one land with nothing but shrimp. I tired of that one quickly." I always thought it was funny that there apparently was a world without shrimp and a world with nothing but shrimp. Please review!**


	12. Checkpoint

**Chapter/episode 12: Checkpoint. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Buffy the Vampire Slayer**

The Scoobies were meeting in Buffy's living room. Giles was talking about his trip to England. "The Watchers Council didn't know anything at the time but they promised to keep looking and they contacted me saying they've found some information."

"Well that's good, isn't it?" Tara asked. Angel frowned. He could tell by how nervous Giles was that there was something more to this than just getting information.

"What do they know?" Buffy asked.

"They said they'll tell us…when they arrive." Giles finished with a sigh.

Buffy sat up straight, her eyes wide. "Arrive? They're coming here? No. No, Giles, I don't want them here. Make them not come here."

"They're probably already on their way." Giles admitted. "Our old friend Travers is bringing a group of Watchers personally."

"I don't understand." Tara said. "They're Watchers, right? Just more people like Giles."

"Yes, they're evil and cruel." Buffy said. Giles looked kind of offended but brushed it off.

"Essentially, they want the same thing we do." He said. "They kill demons."

Anya suddenly looked alarmed. "Only current demons, right?" she asked. "_Current _demons." They all ignored her.

"Giles, they put me through that test and almost killed me. Then when I was Faith they almost killed me again." Buffy said.

"Maybe it'll be different this time, Buffy." Willow said. "I mean, they did think you were Faith last time."

Angel had been sitting quietly next to Buffy, contemplating the whole situation. Buffy looked at him for a moment, and then panic entered her eyes. "Giles, what do they know about me and Angel? What do they know about Angel at all?" she asked frantically.

Giles took his glasses off and started cleaning them. "I told them he still lived in Sunnydale and that he helps us. I did not tell them about your relationship, however. They do not know that there is or has ever been anything romantic between you, let alone that you are engaged."

Buffy breathed a sigh of relief. "Good. Let's keep it that way."

Angel rubbed her shoulder soothingly. "Relax. We can get through this, I promise. Nothing's going to happen to me."

"We don't know that."

"Please. I'm not afraid of the Watchers Council. They should be afraid of me."

"Why?" Willow asked curiously.

Angel grinned. "As Angelus, I attacked their headquarters six times."

**0000000ooooooo0000000**

Buffy and Angel opened the door to the magic shop and found it was full of people. Giles was standing next to Travers. All the people were Watchers. "Bad day." Buffy said, turning around and trying to pull Angel out the door. "Bad, bad day."

"Miss Summers." Travers said before Buffy could leave. "Good to see you again."

Buffy sighed. Angel gave her an encouraging smile. She turned around and walked into the shop, Angel following. "Hello." Buffy said coldly.

Travers eyes Angel warily. "And hello, Angelus."

"Just Angel, if you don't mind." Angel said. He noted that all the Watchers seemed tense and nervous around him. This satisfied him.

"Yes." Travers said. He turned back to Buffy. "I'm looking forward to seeing your progress over the next couple of days, Miss Summers."

Buffy was sure she had misheard. "Days?" she asked, looking at Giles.

"Yes." Giles sighed. "Turns out they'll be staying longer than I thought they would."

"We will be giving you a full review." Travers said. "If you pass, we will give you the information we have on Glory."

"And if she doesn't?" Angel asked. He was sure Buffy _could_ pass, he had complete confidence in her abilities, but he just had to know, because the council wasn't always known for playing fair.

"We will not be giving you the information." Travers answered.

Angel was furious. "You'd let innocent people die just because you're not pleased with her skills?"

"You doubt she can pass?" Travers asked, raising his eyebrows.

"I'm sure she can." Angel replied. "But it bothers me that you would refuse us critical information if she didn't."

"She's not your bloody instrument." Giles said, equally furious. "You can't just walk in here and-"

"Giles, calm down." Buffy said. She looked at Travers. "I'll do your review. At the end, I get my information and you go back to England?"

"Yes."

"Fine. What do I have to do?"

"The review will include a physical assessment and a test on your knowledge." Travers began. Angel saw Buffy pale a little but he was the only one who noticed. Travers continued, "We will also be interviewing your friends-"

"Interviewing my friends?" Buffy interrupted.

"Yes. I understand you are still taking civilians out on patrol."

"Yes, but why do you have to interview them?"

Travers gave her a reproachful look. "We want to learn more about how you operate on a daily basis. We will be talking to…" he paused, picked up a list, and read off, "Miss Willow Rosenburg, Miss Tara McClay, Mr. Alexander Harris, Miss Anya Jenkins, William the Bloody and Angelus."

"Spike and Angel?" Buffy cried.

"Yes. We were wondering why it is you work closely with two vampires." Travers said.

"Angel's got a soul and Spike's harmless." Buffy snapped. "They're part of the team."

Travers just continued, "The review will begin tomorrow. Until then the magic shop shall remain closed."

"What if I refuse to do this review?" Buffy asked.

"We will make sure Mr. Giles's shop is shut down, permanently. We can also have him sent back to England as soon as tonight."

Buffy's eyes got big. She glanced at Giles. "Fine." She said. "I'll see you tomorrow." She turned to leave. Angel began to follow.

"Angelus?" Travers asked. When Angel didn't respond, he rephrased. "Angel?"

Angel paused and looked back. "Yes?"

"How did you get here? It won't be dark for an hour."

"It's overcast. I'm safe." Angel responded shortly. It was true enough. They didn't want the council to know about the ring of Amarra. They'd try to take it away, and Angel needed it. Travers seemed to accept Angel's answer. He nodded, and Angel followed Buffy outside.

They walked back home, side by side and silent. About halfway there Angel took a good look and Buffy and could tell something was wrong. "Buffy?"

"What if I can't do it, Angel? If I fail, we won't get the info on Glory, and we need that information. We need it to protect Dawn. I have to protect Dawn."

"Relax, Buffy. You're an amazing Slayer. You'll pass no problem." Angel assured her. Buffy looked doubtful, so he went on. "You can pass the physical test. You're a fantastic fighter. You can answer questions they ask you, you're smarter than they give you credit for. And you know your friends will tell them every positive thing they can come up with, because they're your friends and they want you to pass. Nothing to worry about."

"Sweet as that little speech was, it's not entirely true. You know the fights they put me up to aren't usually fair. Remember my eighteenth birthday? That was a disaster. And as much as I appreciate your compliment on how smart I am, the fact is I never remember the old Slayer stuff. I did well in school but that's different, they don't care about that. They'll ask me the hardest questions they can think of that they know I can't answer. I'm completely doomed."

"No you're not." Angel said. He stopped walking suddenly, pulled her over, and kissed her. When they pulled away, he said, "You can do this. I believe in you, Buffy. You can do this."

**The Next Day**

Angel and Spike were interviewed at the mansion, where Angel was pretending to still live. "I don't see why I have to be interviewed with him." Angel grumbled. "I also don't see why I'm allowing him in my house."

"So you both help the Slayer?" One of the Watchers asked. He was taking notes on a clipboard. The second Watcher had a cross held out in front of him. The woman Watcher behind them was pointing a cross-bow at the two vampires.

"Yes." Angel answered.

"Yep." Spike agreed. "Well, when she pays me."

"She pays you?" the Watcher asked.

"Sometimes."

"Do you get paid as well, Angelus?"

Angel growled, causing the Watchers to jump back a little. "Ok, I'm not responding to the name Angelus anymore, ok? Any questions you want answered must be directed to the name Angel."

"Do you get paid as well, _Angel_?" the Watcher corrected.

"No. I help because I want to."

"Why do you want to help?"

"I don't want innocent people to get hurt. I like helping people. I feel like it. If I don't Buffy will beat me to death with a shovel. Take your pick. I've got more." Angel said testily. He wouldn't say anything to hurt Buffy, but he also wasn't going to be completely cooperative. Spike grinned at Angel's answer.

The Watcher looked annoyed, but he moved on. "In your opinions, how skilled is the Slayer?"

"She's the toughest Slayer I've met." Spike said honestly. "If she wasn't I'd have killed her years ago."

"She impresses me." Angel said. "She works hard and she's good at it. Most vampires and demons don't stand a chance. She should never be underestimated."

"You've both killed Slayers in the past, correct?" The woman spoke up.

"That was a long time ago." Angel said shortly.

"You've heard of us?" Spike asked with interest, a sinister smile appearing on his face.

"I…I wrote my Thesis on you two and Darla and Drusilla." She admitted.

"Well isn't that neat." Spike said. He looked at Angel. "A fan of the old Fanged Four."

Angel smirked a little but simply said, "We've both killed Slayers but have intention of killing Buffy. If that's all, I'd like you all to get out of my house."

"No so fast, Angel." A voice said. Everyone turned and saw Travers himself walk in. He looked straight at Angel. "It'd like to talk to you one-on-one. Everyone else, leave us."

Everyone, even Spike, got up to leave. Spike looked warily at Travers and muttered so only Angel could hear, "Be careful. He looks like a tricky one."

Angel nodded slightly so Spike would see, and turned to Travers as he sat down. "I thought you were testing Buffy." He said smoothly.

"That part of the review doesn't start until later this afternoon." Travers replied. "I seeing as I was very interested in your roll here, I thought I'd use my free time to interview you personally."

"Well I'm flattered." Angel said sarcastically. "Why are you so interested in me?"

Travers simply began asking questions. "How long have you known Miss Summers?"

"Almost four years." Angel replied. "She was sixteen when we met."

"She had just moved to Sunnydale?"

"Correct." Angel knew where this was leading. They suspected he and Buffy were more than just friends. Travers was hoping to learn something from him that could be used to pinpoint the condition of their relationship.

"What do you think of Miss Summers?"

"I think she's a fantastic Slayer. She's very good at what she does."

"I meant what you think of her personally, not as the Slayer."

"She's kind. She's smart. She cares deeply about her friends. She'd do anything for them, and they'd do anything for her."

"Are you one of her friends?"

"Yes."

"Would you do anything for her?"

Angel hesitated, trying to think of a wise answer to this question. Of course he would, and he had said that her friends would, but would it still raise more suspicion? "I'll stand by her in fight." He finally said.

"And why is that?"

"What do you mean?"

"Why do you stand by her? I understand your mission to redeem yourself, but why stick with the Slayer all these years? It was recorded you almost left Sunnydale a year and a half ago. What made you decide to stay? What's so special about her?"

"Well she is the Slayer. Trouble tends to follow the Slayer. I find plenty of work to keep me busy with her. And Sunnydale is the Hellmouth, an ideal place to find ways to save lives since so many need saving. I'm needed here."

Travers seemed to consider Angel's answer. "Do you have feelings for Miss Summers?"

Angel pretended to be completely thrown by the question. "No. There's never been anything romantic between us. We're friends."

The two stared at each other closely. Angel was a good liar. He'd had a lot of practice. Even when he was human he'd done a lot of lying. Travers, however, was very good at sniffing out lies. This was going to be close.

"Can I ask you a question?" Angel asked suddenly. "Why do you want her to fail?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"Don't patronize me. You and I both know this whole thing is set up for her to fail no matter how good she is. Why do you want her to fail? Are you trying to prove something? That without the Watchers Council she's hopeless? Do you just want to torture her? Why don't you want her to have the crucial information she needs? Or is the information really a hoax and you have nothing?"

"This is nonsense." Travers said.

"And this interview you're giving me is pointless. You're grasping at straws for something unrelated to your purpose here. I'm not answering anymore questions. Get out of my house."

**00000000ooooooo0000000**

Angel looked at the clock nervously. Buffy was never this late. Had something happened?

He and the Scoobies were sitting on the second level of the magic shop (with the really rare and dangerous books), overlooking the Watchers as they waited to test Buffy. If Buffy ever showed up.

Her testing on her physical abilities earlier that afternoon had been a disaster. It wasn't her fault, of course, the test had been the stupidest thing Angel had ever seen. _Protect the dummy…what a waste of time._ Travers was clearly already planning on failing Buffy simply because she was late. Angel had never loathed anybody so completely.

Suddenly Buffy walked in…carrying a sword that Angel was pretty certain was not hers. "Buffy?" he called. "Did something happen?"

Buffy just glanced at him. Her eyes told him to wait, he'd find out. "Now the review can finally begin." Travers said, but Buffy put the sword down on the table in front of him.

"There isn't going to be a review." She said.

"What's she doing?" Willow whispered to Angel. Angel shook his head.

"I'm going to tell you what's gonna happen, and you're going to listen, no judging, and no interruptions." Buffy said. Angel looked at her curiously. She continued, "I've had a lot of people talking at me that last few days. Telling how unimportant I am. And I've finally figured out why: power. I have it. They don't. This bothers them."

She glanced at both Angel and Giles as she went on, "Glory came to my home today."

"Oh my god, Buffy." Angel said, starting to get down and join them on the floor. "Are you-"

"Just to talk." Buffy assured him. "We just talked. We had what in her warped mind probably passes for a civilized conversation. She told me that she could squash me like a bug, that she could kill me in seconds. Only she didn't. Because I have power over her. I have something she wants. You didn't come all the way from England to see if I was good enough to be let back in. You came to beg _me _to let _you _back in. You're Watchers. Without a Slayer your lives are pointless."

One of the Watchers started to say something. Buffy picked up the sword and threw it at his head, missing by an inch. "I'm fairly certain I said no interruptions." She said. Angel grinned at her. Buffy turned back to Travers. "So here's how it's gonna work. You're going to tell me everything you know about Glory, and then you're going to go away. You will contact me if and when you get any further information. Mr. Giles will be reinstated as my official Watcher, on full pay. And I will continue to bring my friends with me on patrol."

"Um, I don't want a sword thrown at me." The woman Watcher began. "But we're talking about civilians."

"We're talking about two powerful witches and a thousand year old ex-demon." Buffy retorted.

"Willow's a demon?" Anya yelled. Everyone ignored her.

"And the boy? He has no special talents."

"_The boy _has clocked more field time than all of you combined. He's part of the team." Buffy said.

"That's Riley talk." Willow said to the others.

"I'm part of the team." Xander said, pleased.

"And, of course," Buffy continued. "Angel. My fiancé."

Angel was sure Travers was dying to yell 'Ha!' but figured it wouldn't be wise. So he settled for, "You and Angel are engaged?"

"Yes. We're getting married this summer. You're not invited. Any person besides Giles and Wesley Wydem-Pryce who has ever worked for or currently works for the Watchers council seen at the wedding will be _killed._" Buffy said.

Angel knew that she would never kill anyone (though she probably would send them to the hospital), and gave her a look that clearly said, _"Overdramatic, much?"_ Buffy simply smirked at him.

She turned to Travers. "Do we have a deal?"

"Your terms are…acceptable." Travers said finally. The Scoobies cheered, and Angel kissed Buffy happily. "Rupert," Travers said, "When we raided your shop, we came across a bottle of scotch under the desk."

Giles suddenly looked very embarrassed. "It's not for working hours…"

"I could use a glass." Travers finished.

"Oh, of course." Giles said hurriedly.

"Wait." Buffy said, holding out her hand. "First, tell me about Glory."

"There's a lot to tell." Travers said.

"Just tell me one thing: what kind of demon is she?"

Travers sighed. "Well that's the thing, you see. Glory isn't a demon."

"What is she?" Buffy asked seriously.

"She's a god."

Buffy's eyes grew very wide. "Oh."

**Sorry this was late. Please review!**


	13. Blood Ties

**Chapter/episode 13: Blood Ties. This one is long. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Buffy.**

Everyone was gathered in the Magic Box. Though Giles had the information on Glory spread out in front of him, the current conversation had nothing to do with Glory.

"No." Buffy said. "Guys, please, I know Mom wants to pull out the party decorations tomorrow but with everything that's going on…"

"Nonsense." Willow said. "You deserve a party."

Buffy sighed and turned to Angel. "I can't believe you're siding with them."

Angel smiled. "You don't turn twenty every day, Buffy. It's a big deal and you deserve a party. So there." Buffy was about to say something, but he cut her off. "So there!"

Buffy sighed, defeated. She could argue with Willow and her mom and all her other friends, but once Angel was involved, she didn't stand a chance. "Fine. But nothing big, ok? There's a lot going on and I don't have time for a repeat of my returning-home party after that summer in L.A."

"Don't worry." Willow promised. "Small, quiet, no loud music, and no zombies. Check."

"Getting back to Glory." Giles spoke up. "From what I've gathered from this information, Glory and her fellow gods ruled on of the more unpleasant hell dimensions."

"There's more than one?" Tara asked.

"Oh, yeah." Anya said. "There are hundreds."

"All pushing on our reality, trying to find a way in." Giles added.

"Looks like Glory found one." Buffy sighed, leaning against Angel, who was sitting next to her. "The question is, why?"

"It doesn't say." Giles replied. "Just vague references to chaos and destruction." He got up as his tea kettle whistled.

"Ok, so we know how Glory's here, but what do we know about her?" Buffy asked. "I mean, she's tough, yeah, but no bolts of lightning, no blasts of fire, shouldn't a god be able to do that stuff?"

"I bet being here is severally limiting her powers." Angel said. "Right, Giles?"

"Correct." Giles said. "All we have to worry about right now is that she's immortal, invulnerable, and insane."

"A _crazy_ hell god?" Xander cried.

"She's crazy?" Angel asked with a frown.

"Being in our dimension is putting a lot of strain on her mental state as well." Giles explained. "She gets strength by…sucking people's minds, leaving them insane. Which is why there has been such an increase in the mentally unstable in Sunnydale."

"She's a brain sucker?" Tara said with disgust.

"We have to do more research." Giles sighed.

"I'll try to find out more about where she comes from." Anya said. "I know way more about hell dimensions than Giles." Giles gave her a look. "What? I do."

"Ok," Xander said, "What about this Key that Glory is looking for? What do we know about that?"

Buffy looked at Angel and then at Giles, panicked. "Um, I don't think that's very important."

"No, Xander's right." Willow said. "We should try to find out what it is."

Buffy stood up and started pacing nervously. Angel gave her a look that clearly said _"Tell them"_. Buffy looked away. Angel sighed and turned back to the others.

"Do we have any idea what it is?" Xander asked.

"Yes." Buffy said suddenly. "Giles and Angel and I, we know what it is."

"And you didn't tell us?" Willow cried, looking shocked and hurt.

"Why would you keep something that important from us?" Xander asked angrily.

"The less people who knew, the safer it would be." Buffy said.

"You still should have told us." Willow said, still looking upset.

"There were lives on the line, Willow." Angel said quietly. "What would you have done?"

"Well you have to tell us now." Xander said.

Buffy nodded and sat back down. Angel took her hand under the table. Buffy took a deep breath and said, "There's something I need to tell you…about Dawn."

"Dawn?" Willow repeated, confused. "But I thought we were talking about…" she trailed off. "Oh."

"What?" Xander asked, looking from Willow to Buffy. "I'm missing something here."

"Oh my god." Willow whispered. "It's not possible." She looked at Tara. "Not possible."

Tara's eyes widened in realization. "Dawn?" she said. She looked at Buffy. "Dawn's the Key?"

"Wait, Dawn is the Key?" Xander cried. "No way."

Buffy nodded. "Dawn's the Key. But she doesn't know it." She told them all what the monk had told her. Her grip on Angel's hand became tighter as she talked.

There was silence when she finished. "But I remember her." Willow said. "I remember knowing her since I've known you."

"We all remember." Angel said.

"Dawn has no idea about any of this." Buffy said. "So don't tell her, and please don't act weird around her."

"Of course not." Tara said quickly.

"Totally." Xander agreed.

A little while later, everyone got up to leave. As they walked towards the door, Angel nudged Buffy a little. "Now would be a good time to ask him."

Buffy turned and looked at Giles, who was putting away the books. "You're right." She said. She looked back at Angel. "Wait for me outside?" she asked.

"Of course." He kissed her. Once he was outside, Willow gave him an odd look.

"What's she doing?" she asked him.

"Talking to Giles. So everything's ready for the party?"

Willow smiled. "Yep. And you talked to…?"

"Yes. And Buffy has no idea."

"Good. We'll see you tomorrow." Willow said. She and Tara walked away.

Meanwhile, inside, Buffy walked back over to Giles. "Hey." She said. Giles turned around, surprised.

"Hello Buffy. Did you need something?"

"No." Buffy shook her head. She picked up a book, put it on the shelf, and then looked at him. "So, um, I heard from my dad the other day."

"Oh, good." Giles replied. "How is he?"

"He's good." Buffy said. After a pause, she continued, "He's not coming to the wedding. He says he's too busy."

Giles put down the book he'd just picked up. "Well, that's just completely unacceptable. To not go to your oldest daughter's wedding just because you're busy? I mean, he's never even met Angel, and the man's going to be his son-in-law. It's completely rude."

"I didn't really expect him to come." Buffy admitted. "I'm surprised he even responded to the invitation." She paused again, before saying, "But, uh, this means I don't have anyone to give me away."

"I'm sure you'll find something to do." Giles replied.

"Would you do it?" Buffy asked. Giles looked at her in surprise. "You're more like a father to me than my real father is." Buffy went on. "Will you give me away?"

Giles smiled a little. "I'm honored, Buffy. Of course I will."

"Thank you, Giles!" Buffy said. She threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly. He hugged her back, still smiling. Buffy let go after a moment. "I should probably go. Angel's waiting outside. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Goodbye, Buffy." Giles said.

Buffy headed for the door, then stopped and looked back. "Thank you." She said again, and went outside.

"Well?" Angel said when she came out.

"He said yes." Buffy said happily.

"I told you he would."

"You were right, as always." Buffy said. "Let's go home."

**000000000ooooooo00000000**

Angel was lying on their bed with a book when Buffy walked in, her hair still wet from the shower. "Hey." She said happily, jumping onto the bed and laying down next to him.

"Hey." He replied, putting the book down on the bedside table and facing her. "How are you?"

"Clean." She replied. "And happy. And almost older."

"Those are good things." Angel said. He leaned over and kissed her. She snuggled in closer. After they had pulled away, Angel said, "So I was thinking. After the party tomorrow night, maybe we could spend the night at the mansion. And then I could give you your present."

Buffy smiled. "That sounds amazing." She agreed. "Ok, I'm in. Tomorrow night, after the party."

They turned the light off and got into bed. Buffy curled up in Angel's arms. She was quiet, like she was thinking. Finally Angel asked, "What are you thinking about?"

"Just this random thing that popped into my head." Buffy replied. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Of course."

"If you were able to have kids…would you want to?"

Angel was quiet for a minute. Would he want kids? He'd never given it much thought, really. He knew it was impossible, so he'd never taken time to think about it. If he and Buffy could have children…he knew the answer. "Yes." He said. "If I could have kids, I'd want to. Why? Do you?"

"Oh, don't get all broody with me. If I could have children with you…I would. But it's not going to happen, and I'm ok with that. You're worth it. I'd rather be with you than have kids with someone else. Besides, having children when you're the Slayer is risky business anyway. I'm not sure it's ever happened. I was just curious." She kissed him, and he kissed her back. He let his guilt about depriving her of a family melt away. It was clear she knew what she wanted.

**00000000ooooooo00000000**

The next day, they were at the Magic Box. Buffy and Giles returned from training in the back room. Angel was working with Dawn on her homework. "Hey Dawn, how was school?" Buffy asked.

"The usual. Big square building full of despair." Dawn replied.

"Just like I remember it." Buffy said with a smile.

The door opened, and Giles said, "Oz."

Buffy and Angel turned around to see Oz walking into the shop. Xander and Anya looked up as well and saw him. "Hey guys." Oz said.

"Oz." Buffy said in surprise. "It's great to see you…we weren't expecting-"

"Glad you could make it." Angel interrupted.

Buffy looked at Angel. "What, you knew he was coming?"

"I invited him. For your party."

Buffy gave him a look. "I told you I didn't want a big party."

"He's one extra person! That doesn't make it much bigger than it was before."

Buffy sighed, and turned back to Oz. "It really is great to see you." She said. She hugged him. "Thanks for coming."

"No problem, I was in the area. Is Willow here?"

"No, she and Tara had class. Are you ok, being here with her and Tara?"

"Yeah. We talked yesterday, it'll be ok."

"Good." Buffy smiled. She turned back to Angel as Oz went to say hello to Xander. "Maybe you're right. Maybe this'll be fun."

**00000000ooooooo00000000**

Everyone was at Buffy's house for the party. Willow, Tara, and Oz were talking, Dawn and Xander were trying to guess what was inside each of Buffy's presents, Anya was watching them and occasionally made a comment about how she wished she had the presents, and Buffy, Angel, Giles, and Joyce were in the kitchen, getting food ready.

The doorbell rang. "I'll get it." Buffy said. She went out to the hall and opened the door.

"Surprise!"

Buffy stepped back in alarm before she realized who it was. "Cordy?"

It was Cordelia, and behind her was Doyle, Wesley, Gunn, and a demon that she and Angel had met over the summer called Lorne. Cordelia smiled. "Can we come in?"

Buffy nodded. Angel came into the hallway. "Hey guys." He said. "Glad you could come."

Buffy looked at him. "Just one extra person, he said." She said. "Didn't mention the five other people you invited."

Angel smiled sheepishly. "They're our friends." He said. "Come on, it'll be fun."

And they did have fun once the party started. The Scoobies had never met Gunn or Lorne, and everybody was having a good time. Things got a little tense when Buffy opened her presents, however, because Dawn gave her a frame with a picture of the two of them on the beach. The problem was, the memory had never actually happened. The Scoobies all became quiet when Dawn gave it to her.

Afterwards, Gunn asked Angel, "What was that all about? Everybody got all sad just over a birthday present?"

"It's a long story." Angel sighed.

A few minutes later, Angel walked into the kitchen where Buffy, Giles, and Joyce were getting ready to serve cake. Buffy smiled at him. "Ok, I give. This is fun. Even if you did invite six people without telling me."

"Um, seven people." Angel admitted.

"Seven?"

"I invited Spike too. But he hasn't shown up. I guess he's not coming."

Joyce and Giles were talking about the Key. "It just seems like there's a lot you don't know about this." Joyce said.

"Well there is." Angel said, joining the conversation.

"Is she dangerous?" Joyce asked.

"No." Buffy said immediately.

Giles was about to say something when Angel said, "Dawnie? Party getting slow?"

The others looked and saw Dawn. She picked up some plates and forced a smile. "Just needed some plates."

A few minutes later, they heard yelling from the living room. Glancing at each other worriedly, they hurried out of the kitchen. "Dawn, what's going on?" Joyce asked.

"They're talking about me." Dawn said, pointing at Xander and Anya.

"No, we're not." Xander insisted.

"We were talking about sex." Anya said. "You know, sometimes we like to pretend things, like there's a-"

"Ok, let's not have this conversation right now." Buffy interrupted.

"Oh, of course, can't let Dawn hear things." Dawn said angrily.

"Actually, Dawnie, we're trying to avoid the rest of us getting disturbing mental images." Angel said.

"Whatever." Dawn said. "I'll just go to bed. That way I won't be exposed to, like, words." She stormed upstairs.

"Let her be." Angel sighed. "She'll calm down."

"What was that about?" Cordelia asked.

Buffy groaned and sank into a chair. "I really don't want to go into it. How are things in L.A.?"

Lorne answered, "Things are just peachy from where I'm at."

"Yeah, but you're at a karaoke bar." Wesley pointed out. "Things are much more hectic for the rest of us."

"We've gotten lots of cases." Cordelia said brightly. "And Doyle's visions have kept us busy."

"Wolfram and Hart has been giving us problems, though." Doyle said. "They create as much evil as we get rid of."

"Wolfram and Hart?" Giles asked.

"Evil law firm." Wesley said.

"I always knew lawyers were evil." Xander said.

"Not all lawyers." Cordelia sighed. "Just these ones."

"Cake?" Willow offered.

The party eventually got into swing again. Oz told some stories about his travels (Angel's favorite involved a group of tourists and a dancing spell at Niagara Falls), and then eventually Buffy and Angel stood up in front of everyone.

"I wish Dawn and Spike were here." Buffy sighed.

"We can tell them later." Angel said. "We want to announce who's in the wedding."

"Oh, shh, shh!" Willow said excitedly to the others. Buffy giggled.

"Well," she said, "We decided on three bridesmaids."

"And?" Willow prompted.

"And I chose Willow, Dawn, and Cordy."

"Really?" Cordelia asked, beaming. "You're serious?"

"Yeah. Sunnydale High girls gotta stick together."

"Thanks Buffy." Cordelia said, hugging her. Willow hugged her as well.

"Thanks." Willow said. "What about you, Angel?"

Angel smiled. "Oz, Spike, and Doyle." He said. "If they all agree to do it, of course."

"Spike?" Xander said. "You're seriously letting Spike be in your wedding?"

Angel shrugged. "Sure, why not?"

The party continued. Most of the girls talked about wedding plans for a while. After a while, everyone was talking in the living room. Buffy, Angel, Willow, Tara, and Cordelia were all talking together. "Did you get any kind of a birthday card from Riley?" Willow asked Buffy.

Buffy shook her head. "No. He probably can't have contact with civilians."

Cordelia made a face. "Riley? That annoying guy who tried to attack me last year? Oh, forget about him, he's an idiot."

Angel laughed. Tara was about to say something when suddenly he face darkened and she said, "Oh my god."

Angel smelled the blood before he turned around. "Dawn!" Buffy yelled. Dawn was holding a knife, and she had blood running down her arm.

"Is this blood?" she asked.

"Dawn, what happened?" Joyce cried.

"Am I real?" Dawn asked. "I'm not a…key."

Buffy and Angel exchanged horrified looks. She knew.

**00000000ooooooo0000000**

Everybody left. Oz and the Investigators all had hotel rooms, so they'd see them tomorrow. Joyce, Buffy, and Angel went up to Dawn's room to talk to her. "We were going to tell you when you were older." Joyce was saying when Angel walked in.

"How old am I?" Dawn asked.

"We think about six months." Buffy answered.

Dawn laughed humorlessly. "I've only been alive for six months."

"Dawn," Angel began.

"Get out." Dawn said.

"Dawn, please." Joyce begged.

"Get out, get out, GET OUT!" Dawn screamed. All three of them sighed and left the room.

Buffy helped her mom clean up from the party, but Angel disappeared. After she was done, she went upstairs to their room. She knew their plans to go to the mansion were off. The door was open a little to their room. She opened it wider and saw Angel was sitting on the bed, staring at the wall. "Oh, honey." Buffy sighed. "I thought you'd moved past the broody stage of your life. You've been doing so well…oh my god."

She walked into the room and looked around. Books had been ripped off shelves and were lying all over the floor, pieces of paper were scattered across the room, and all of their notes on Glory were spread out on the bed in front of Angel. "What happened?" Buffy asked, closing the door. "Angel?"

"I can't take it anymore."

"Can't take what?"

"I have to _know_, Buffy. You saw her, she's a mess, and we can't tell her a damn thing."

"Who? Dawn?"

"Yes!" he jumped off the bed. "Can you imagine finding out your whole life was a lie? She's in pain and I…and we can't help her because we don't know how. We don't know what she is! Who knows what could happen? What if we…what if we lose her?" he kicked a book across the room. It made a dent in the wall. "I can't believe it's happening again."

"Again?" Buffy asked. Then she knew. "Kathy." She whispered. "You're worried about losing her like you lost Kathy."

Angel sat back down helplessly. "I killed my own sister. My own sister! I loved her so much, and a killed her. Dawn…I love Dawn like a little sister. She's my sister. And I promised myself I wasn't going to let it end like that this time. I'm not going to watch my little sister die again. We have to find something, anything that we can tell her just so she knows! Just to comfort her!" he stood up and grabbed some of the papers, just glancing at them before tossing them aside.

"Angel." Buffy stepped forward. "Angel!" she shouted. She took the papers out of his hands. "Nothing's going to happen to Dawn. It's going to be fine. I hate seeing you like this, you've got to calm down Sweetie, calm down." She said soothingly. Angel seemed to relax a little. "I love you." Buffy said. "I love you, Angel. Nothing bad will happen. We can get through this."

**00000000ooooooo00000000**

The next day did not bring better things, however. They spent the whole day researching in the magic shop. The Investigators helped until they had to get back to L.A. Oz helped too. They did figure out how Dawn found out, however, and where Spike had been the night before. Buffy had to stop Angel from finding Spike and beating him to death. "It's not worth it." She said. "She would have found out anyway."

At the end of the day, Buffy and Angel went back home, where Joyce was upset. "The school called." She said. "She was suspended."

"I'm not surprised." Angel sighed.

"She won't talk to me." Joyce said.

"Of course she won't!" Buffy exploded suddenly. "She's not my sister, we're not her family!"

"How can you say that?" Joyce gasped.

"I'm not! I'm saying that's how she feels." Buffy said. "And it's not going to get better unless-"

"Smoke." Angel said suddenly. They both looked at him. "Smoke, smoke, smoke!" Angel yelled frantically, running upstairs. Suddenly the fire alarm went off. Buffy and Joyce followed him.

Dawn had set her diaries on fire in the trash can. Buffy put the fire out. "Dawn!" she yelled. "She could have burned the house down…"

"Buffy." Angel said, looking at the open window. "She's gone."

**00000000ooooooo00000000**

They split up to look for Dawn. Anya and Oz stayed at the Magic Box, Willow and Tara went together, Xander and Giles went together, and Buffy, Angel, and Spike went together as well. "This is all my fault." Buffy said.

"No it isn't." Spike replied. They were walking through the park. "She would have run off sooner or later."

They met with the others, but no one's had any luck. Angel called Oz but Dawn hadn't been at the shop. They decided to check the hospital.

Dawn hadn't checked in at the hospital. "So now what?" Xander asked.

A doctor suddenly passed by with cops. "You have to see it, his head is nearly twisted off…"

They all looked at each other. "Even I can't twist someone's head clean off." Angel said.

"Glory." Buffy said.

They found Glory about to brain-suck Dawn. Buffy tried to fight her but was sent flying across the room. Spike was the next to attack but was thrown into a wall. "Tell your boyfriend to be more careful." Glory sneered.

"He's not my boyfriend." Buffy said, getting up.

"That would be me." Angel said, and hit Glory in the back of the head, knocking her to the ground.

She got back up. "Oh, you just made a big mistake." She said to Angel, but then Willow threw glitter all over her. "Look what you did to my-" she began, but Willow said a spell and she vanished.

"What did you do?" Angel asked.

"Teleportation spell." Willow said, looking dazed. Her nose was bleeding. "Still working out the kinks."

"Where did you send her?" Buffy asked.

"That's one of the kinks."

Buffy crouched next to Dawn. "Are you ok?"

"What do you care?" Dawn snapped.

"You're my sister, Dawn. You're blood," she took Dawn's bleeding hand, "Is the same as mine. It's Summers blood, Dawn. We care about you. Poor Angel nearly went around the bend when you wouldn't talk to any of us."

"Hey!" Angel said.

"Sorry hon, but it's true." She and Dawn stood up. "Let's go home."

"Ben." Dawn said suddenly. "He was trying to help me. I think he might have left before Glory came."

"Next time I see him, I'll thank him." Buffy said. "Now come on, Mom's worried sick."

**00000000ooooooo00000000**

After dropping Dawn off, Angel took Buffy to the mansion. They still got their night away. Angel kissed her as soon as they were inside. "I never got to give you your present." He said. "Sit down, I'll get it."

Buffy obeyed. Angel came back a few minutes later, holding something behind his back. "I couldn't figure out how to wrap it, so…well, here." He held out a large, rolled up piece of paper.

She unrolled it and gasped. "Oh, Angel, it's amazing!"

It was a realistic sketch. Buffy was in the middle of the picture, and Angel was next to her, his arms around her. On Buffy's other side was Dawn. Behind them were Joyce and Giles. Around them were Willow, Tara, Xander, Anya, and Spike. The sketch had also been painted beautifully. On the bottom it said _Family_. "You did this?" Buffy asked.

"Yeah." Angel said nervously. "Do you like it?"

"I love it. Angel, this amazing. I can't believe it, when did you have time to do this without me knowing?"

"It wasn't easy. You really like it?"

"Of course I do! We have to hang this on the wall in our room at home." Buffy said. She lay it carefully down on the table and stood up, walking over to Angel. She kissed him. "I love you."

"I love you too. Happy birthday."

She smiled and kissed him again.

**This one might be my favorite for this story so far. I can't decide. Anyway, I hoped you like it and I'm sorry it took a while to post. I know in the cannon storyline in L.A. on _Angel _they didn't know Lorne very well yet, he was just The Host, but I decided to bring him in anyway. Next chapter is Crush, which isn't exactly the right name anymore, but oh well. Please review!**


	14. Crush

**Chapter/episode 14: Crush. I'm not sure that's really the right title in this version, but it should still be good. Drusilla makes an appearance, which is always entertaining. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Buffy the Vampire Slayer.**

Buffy and Angel, Willow and Tara, and Xander and Anya were at the Bronze, enjoying an evening without battling evil. Xander, Anya, Willow, and Tara were dancing. Angel and Buffy had been dancing earlier but now were sitting down with drinks and food, talking.

"I'll admit," Angel said, "It's kind of nice to have a relaxing night without worrying about…who know who." He finished, not wanting to say Glory's name and spoil the relaxing mood.

"And you didn't want to come." Buffy teased.

"I'm an idiot." Angel responded playfully. "You're very wise."

"I know." Buffy giggled. Angel smiled and kissed her.

"Check out the lust bunnies." A familiar voice behind them said. Angel closed his eyes in annoyance.

"What do you want, Spike?" he asked. Spike sat down next to him.

"It's a public club. I'm allowed here too." Spike said defensively. "And everybody else is having fun without me."

"Well you're not exactly one of our friends, so we didn't feel the need to invite you." Angel retorted.

Spike frowned. "You know, you don't have to be so hostile. We took on that Glory chick together, I was right there with you, fighting the fight-"

"Actually you were sleeping the sleep unconscious." Buffy pointed out.

"Well yeah. But points for intent." Spike said. "You'd think it'd be enough to cut me a sliver of slack, a little consideration, respect."

"Hey, Evil Dead, you're in my seat." Xander said as he and Anya approached from the dance floor.

Spike sighed and stood up. Angel smirked at him. "What were you saying about respect?" he asked.

"Oh, shut up." Spike snapped. "I'll see you later." He trudged off.

Willow and Tara came over and joined them. "That was fun." Willow sighed.

"Are you ok?" Angel asked.

"Yeah. I'm still kind of drained from teleportation spell I did on Glory." Willow admitted.

"Sweetie, in case you didn't hear me the first six thousand times, no more teleportations in the house." Tara said.

"Does anyone want drinks?" Xander asked. "I'm buying. I'm payday man."

"I could use a water." Willow said.

"Water poses no problem for payday man." Xander replied, and he went to get her water.

"What did Spike want?" Anya asked.

"Not sure." Angel sighed. "He just kind of showed up."

To Angel's surprise, Buffy smiled slyly. "I think I know why he keeps showing up."

"What do you mean?"

"Well isn't it obvious, Angel?" Buffy asked, grinning. "He's been following you around like a sheep. He wants your approval."

"Spike wants my approval." Angel repeated doubtfully.

"Yes! Come on, it makes sense. You're his grand-sire, and he's always talking about how he's transforming to our side…except he's still going out with Harmony." She added, causing everyone else to laugh. "But he wants you to think of him as someone you can trust, not someone that should be beaten senseless. He's waiting for you to approve of him."

"If you say so." Angel said. But he did wonder…could she be right?

**00000000ooooooo00000000**

**The Next Morning**

Angel was still asleep. Buffy had snuck out of bed and gone downstairs, where she found her Mom and Dawn in the kitchen (it was Saturday, so Dawn didn't have school). "Good morning, Buffy." Joyce said.

"Morning Mom." Buffy replied. "Hey Dawnie."

"Hi Buffy." Dawn said. He finished filling her bowl with cereal, picked it up, and started for the living room. "Bye Buffy."

Buffy smiled and grabbed the box of cereal. "How do you feel, Mom?"

"I feel good." Joyce replied, smiling. "I've been feeling great the last couple of days. I think I'm going to be ok."

Buffy smiled back. "Good." She said.

"Buffy!" Dawn yelled suddenly. "I think you really, really need to see this!"

Buffy and Joyce glanced worriedly at each other and hurried into the living room. Dawn was sitting in a chair, watching the local news. The reporter was talking about a massacre on a train. "Oh my god." Joyce said, shocked.

"Do you think…?" Dawn began, trailing off and looking at Buffy.

"I'll wake up Angel." Buffy said, and ran upstairs. She opened the door to their room and promptly jumped on top of Angel, waking him with a start.

"You know what would be nice?" he asked, looking at her as she sat on top of him. "If maybe just once you could wake me up in a way that doesn't involve jumping on top of me."

"Ok. Next time I'll bang pots and pans together." Buffy said. "Anyway, get up. We're watching the news downstairs and it's not pretty, you need to see this."

Angel nodded, pushed her off, and got out of bed. A few minutes later he and Buffy came hurrying downstairs. Dawn and Joyce were still watching the report on the massacre. The pictures were rather graphic. Angel watched grimly. "What do you think?" he asked Buffy.

"It's worth checking out." Buffy said.

"I agree." Angel said.

"I'll get ready to go." Buffy said. "We'll go to Giles."

**00000000ooooooo00000000**

They ended up bringing Xander with them for extra help. Angel stopped to ask some workers as the station a few questions, and Buffy and Xander went up to the train. Buffy was looking around at what was left of the crime scene in puzzlement. "It's just not Glory's style." She said. "Glory doesn't usually kill the victims, she leaves them insane. So why are all these people dead?" she shook her head. "No. I don't think this is Glory. This has vampire written all over it."

Xander nodded. "I think you're right." He said. After another minute of looking, he said, "So you know that stuff you said last night about Spike? About how he wants to be friends with Angel and you?"

"Yeah. What about it?"

"Were you serious about that?"

"Yes. I think that's what's going on."

Xander looked at her for a moment, and then burst out laughing. Buffy gave him a look. "Xander, I'm not kidding." She said.

"Oh I hope not." Xander said, still laughing. "It's funnier if it's true. Poor Angel."

"I'm serious." Buffy said, annoyed. "Xander this is serious!"

"You're right, I'm sorry." Xander said, calming down. A moment later, though, he started laughing again.

"He's not so bad." Buffy said. "I mean, he's been helpful. It kind of sounds good to have him on our side."

Angel walked in. "Nobody seems to know anything." He said. "What have you guys found?"

"Buffy doesn't think it was Glory." Xander said.

"It looks more like a vampire attack." Buffy said.

Angel nodded. "Yeah, I was thinking about that." He started looking around the train. "Hey, there's still some stuff over here. Bags and stuff." He started looking through the pile. "Nothing special though, just…wait, what's this?" he reached into one bag and pulled out a doll. He looked closely at it.

"So some poor little girl had her doll on the train when she died." Xander said. "It's sad, yeah, but I don't see how this helps us."

Angel's eyes widened suddenly. He dropped the doll, and the porcelain head shattered. "No." he said, sounding close to panic. "No, no, no, no, no!"

"Angel?" Buffy asked.

Angel turned and ran from the train. Buffy and Xander exchanged nervous glances and followed. "Get in the car!" Angel shouted. They obeyed, and Angel drove off, fast.

"Angel, what the hell is going on?" Buffy asked. Angel didn't answer.

They kept driving all the way back through town to the cemetery. Angel got out of the car and started running again. Buffy and Xander followed. Angel ran through the graveyard until he reached Spike's crypt, and he burst inside. "Drusilla!" he shouted.

Spike, who had been sitting in a chair watching TV, looked up. "Um, no, I'm Spike, remember?"

"Dru's here." Angel said. "In Sunnydale."

"What?" Buffy asked. "Angel, are you saying the murders on the train were Drusilla? Are you sure?"

"Positive. I know Dru, and that was her. She's in Sunnydale."

Spike stood up. "Do you know where she is now?"

"She could be anywhere." Angel said. "She could cause a lot of damage."

"Why would she come back?" Buffy asked. "What's in Sunnydale that would be of any value to her?"

"Nothing…except…" Angel trailed off and looked at Spike. Buffy and Xander did the same, and they knew they were all thinking the same thing.

"Oh, god no." Spike said. "Never. She'd never come back for me."

**00000000ooooooo00000000**

An hour later, Spike was going through some of the weapons he had stored. Buffy, Angel, and Xander had gone back to the Magic Box to discuss what to do about Drusilla.

"Hello, Spike."

Spike froze. He'd know that voice anywhere. "Hello Drusilla." He turned around and looked at the woman he used to be so in love with. "Long time no see."

"I knew you'd be here." Drusilla said, walking toward him. "I knew you'd go back to find the Slayer."

"Is that so?" Spike said. "And why did you come all this way to find me here?"

Drusilla smiled wickedly. "It's just not the same without you, Spike." She said. "Things are so…dull and uninteresting without my prince to lead the way." She took his hand and looked at it closely. Then she looked into his eyes. "Come with me, Spike. Come with me and we can rule like we used to."

"It's tempting, Dru." Spike said. "But I don't know if you heard, I can't hurt people anymore. I've got the bloody chip in my head."

"I don't believe in science." Drusilla said, touching his head where his chip would be. "All those little bits no one's ever seen. You can beat the bad chip."

"I don't know, Drusilla." Spike sighed, pulling away from her.

"I know what's really stopping you." Drusilla said. "It's not the chip."

"If you say the Slayer," Spike began, but Drusilla cut him off.

"Not the Slayer." She said. She leaned forward and whispered into his ear, "Angel."

Spike looked at her doubtfully. "Angel." He repeated. "You think Angel is keeping me from going with you."

"He's playing with your mind." Drusilla said. "Making you think you belong here. But you don't, Spike. You belong with me. I know what you have to do."

"And what is that?"

"Fix the problem. Pull the weeds. Kill Angel." She smiled. "I can help you."

Spike grinned at her. "You know what, Dru? I think you just made sense."

**00000000ooooooo00000000**

That night, Spike went to Buffy's house and talked to Angel, saying he had found a lead on where to find Drusilla. He told him there was a vampire nest not far from where the train had been discovered, and he thought she might be there. Angel agreed to go with him to check it out. The two of them went to the nest.

"You're sure this is the place?" Angel asked as they approached.

"Yep." Spike replied.

"Then let's go." Angel vamped out and ripped the door open. He went inside, followed by Spike.

Two vampires were sitting on a couch inside. They both stood up when Angel and Spike walked in. "Angelus." One said. Then the both turned and ran out the back as fast as they could.

Spike watched, dumbstruck. "Well that was just…sad. Disgrace to our kind."

Angel looked around. "This nest has been he for months." He said. "Drusilla's only been here a day. This gets us nowhere." He turned to Spike. "Surely you knew it had been here so long?"

Spike grinned suddenly. "Yeah." He admitted. "I just needed a place out of the way."

"What are you-" Angel was cut off as he was hit in the back of the head. He fell to the ground, unconscious. Drusilla walked out from the shadows.

"Time for your nap." She said.

**00000000ooooooo00000000**

When Angel opened his eyes, the first thing that he noticed was that he was that he was tied up, hanging from a ceiling. The second thing he noticed was that his head really hurt. The third thing he noticed was Spike and Drusilla watching him. Spike was holding a stake. "Spike." he said. "Why? I thought you'd changed."

Spike laughed. "You know, the sad thing is I almost thought that too. Until Drusilla here showed up and opened my eyes to what's really been going on. The problem's not me, Angel, it's you. You've been trying to control me. But it's going to end. Now."

"And to think Buffy and I were ready to trust you." Angel said.

"Well you were wrong, weren't you?" Spike cried. "I am evil, Angel! I don't have a soul, like you. This is what I do!"

"Face it, Angel." Drusilla said, stepping forward. "You lost."

"Hello, Dru." Angel said. "You haven't changed a bit, I see. Still evil, still insane, and still able to completely control Spike."

Drusilla smiled and hit Angel. It took all of Angel's willpower not to cry out in pain, she was strong. "I'm not controlling him. He wanted to do this. Spike is going to kill you, Angel, and nobody will hear you scream to save you. You walked right into the trap. No one is easier to trick then you, Angel."

"Well actually, Dru, darling, that's not entirely true." Spike said. Drusilla gave him an odd look. "There is one person easier to trick than Angel." Spike went on.

"Who?" Drusilla asked with a frown.

"That would be you." A voice from behind Drusilla said. Drusilla turned around and saw Buffy step toward forward, holding a crossbow. Buffy smiled. "Good work, boys."

Spike untied Angel and gave him an axe. Drusilla looked at him in horror. "Spike?"

"You fell for it, Dru." Spike said. "Angel and Buffy knew you'd come after me. I promised I'd lead them right to you. When you made the plan to kill Angel, I went and talked to both of them. I told them what you were planning. Angel came with me, pretending to fall for it, and Buffy came straight here and hid, waiting for us to come back."

Drusilla looked from Spike and his stake to Angel with his axe and finally Buffy and her crossbow. She was trapped. "Spike, please." She pleaded. "I love you. You love me."

"Not anymore." Spike said shortly.

"Spike?" a voice behind them said. Everybody turned and looked.

"Harmony!" Spike hissed. "Go away!"

"Is that the Slayer?" Harmony asked shrilly. "And…oh my god, that's the Drusilla woman you always used to go on about!"

"Harm," Spike said slowly. "We're a little busy."

"Oh no, that's it." Harmony said. She grabbed a crossbow from Spike's pile of weapons. "I'm not going to take that anymore!"

"This was not part of the plan." Buffy said. Drusilla saw her opportunity and punched Angel.

"Angel and I can take Dru. Buffy, you deal with Harmony." Spike said.

"On it." Buffy said, and she ran for Harmony. Spike and Angel grabbed Drusilla and threw her against the wall. She vamped out and attacked Angel, but Spike got between them and she fell on top of him, pulling him to the ground with her. Angel grabbed her from behind. She twisted in his grip and smacked him in the face, sending him stumbling backwards and giving him the opportunity to pull away from him.

Spike stood up and looked at her. She smiled evilly at him. "You can't stop me, Spike." She said. Suddenly Harmony came flying across the room and crashed into Drusilla, sending them both into the wall. Spike blinked, surprised.

Buffy appeared next to him. "Wow, that was really funny looking!" she laughed. Harmony looked at her, almost said something, and then thought better of it. Instead she jumped up and ran out of the crypt. "I don't think you'll be seeing her again." Buffy said to Spike.

Spike picked up his stake again and pointed it at Drusilla as she stood up. "Are you going to kill me, Spike?" she asked, almost looking afraid.

"No, Drusilla." Spike answered. "I won't kill you." He dropped the stake and grabbed her by the shoulders. Looking into her eyes, he said very firmly, "But you have to promise to get out of this town and never come back."

Drusilla looked at him sadly. "Poor Spike." She said. Then she walked out.

**00000000ooooooo00000000**

Buffy, Angel, Spike, Joyce, and Dawn were in the kitchen at the house. Buffy, Angel, and Spike were talking about what had happened with Drusilla. The three of them were laughing a lot.

"And then," Spike said, calming down, "Buffy walks out, pointing a crossbow at Dru, and she says, 'That would be you'."

"The look on Dru's face was priceless." Angel said, laughing again.

"And then," Buffy broke in, also laughing, "Harmony bursts in…oh man, she surprised all of us."

"So the fight breaks out." Spike continued for her. "Angel had been knocked down and I'm waiting for Dru to disembowel me, when suddenly Buffy picks up Harmony, and…" he broke off, laughing, "And she throws her across the room, knocking her into Dru." They all dissolved into laughter again. "It…it was one of the best things I've ever seen." Spike said, trying to control his laughter.

"You should have seen the look on your face." Buffy said.

"It was hilarious." Angel said. "Sorry about Harmony, Spike."

"Oh, don't be." Spike said dismissively. "To be honest, I'd kind of forgotten about her. She's really such an idiot."

"You didn't have to go to school with her." Buffy said. "Try being in chem. class with her. That'll kill you."

Spike laughed. Angel nodded. "Yeah, when she was trying to kill you, I had a hard time feeling threatened." He agreed. "Oh, by the way, Spike." He looked at Spike, who looked back, slightly confused. "Welcome to the team." He said.

Spike smiled a little. "Thanks, Peaches."

Joyce stood up. "Should we order something to eat? I'm starving."

"Yeah, I could eat." Buffy agreed.

"There's blood in the fridge if you're hungry, Spike." Angel said.

"Do you guys want to watch a movie?" Dawn asked.

"Good idea." Joyce said.

"Yeah, sounds good." Angel agreed.

"Sure." Buffy said. "Spike?"

Spike gave her a look. "What?"

"Do you want to stay for a movie?"

Spike was completely taken aback. "Um…ok, why not?"

Buffy smiled. "Great. Movie night. A perfect way to end a day of throwing enemies into other enemies." And they all burst out laughing again.

**Yay! Spike's part of the team! I like my version better than the original. Please review!**


	15. I Was Made to Love You

**Chapter/episode 15: I Was Made to Love You. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Buffy the Vampire Slayer**

When Angel walked into the house, he found Buffy, Dawn, and Joyce in the living room. Joyce was modeling her new dress for Buffy and Dawn, and they were giving their opinion. "What time is it?"Joyce asked suddenly.

Buffy looked at her wrist. ", you have plenty of time before seven. Vast acres of time in which you could plant crops."

Angel smiled. "What's going on?"

"Mom's got a date tonight." Dawn said.

"You don't have to tell everybody, Dawn." Joyce said, looking a little embarrassed.

"Angel lives here, Mom." Buffy pointed out. "I think he would have found out eventually."

"Good point." Joyce sighed. "What time is it now?"

Buffy checked her watch again. "4:24."

"Of course." Joyce said, laughing slightly. "I guess I'm a little nervous. It's been a long time since I've been on a date. Do you have any advice, Buffy?"

"Why are you asking me?" Buffy cried.

"Well you are the one with the most success at love." Dawn pointed out. "You're engaged. What did you guys do on your first date?"

Buffy and Angel looked at each other. "Um…" Buffy said. "Good question. What did we do on our first date?"

"I'm not sure." Angel admitted thoughtfully. "It all kind of blurs together. Did we even have a first date? We just kind of realized we were in love and went with it. But we must have had a first time we actually went out together romantically…what did we do?"

"Presumably we killed something." Buffy said. Angel nodded in agreement.

Joyce smiled. "So what will you two be doing tonight?"

"It's our night off." Buffy sighed happily. "There's a spring break party at UC Sunnydale. We're going to go with Willow, Tara, Xander, Anya…and possibly Spike. Did you invite Spike?" she turned to Angel.

He nodded. "Just came from his crypt. He'll be there."

"Great." Buffy said brightly. "It should be a lot of fun."

**00000000ooooooo00000000**

They did go to the party that night. Buffy and Angel were dancing. Buffy laughed as Angel twirled her around. "Having fun?" she asked him.

"Actually, yeah." Angel said. "I think you must be rubbing off on me."

A few minutes later, the song ended. As another started, Buffy led Angel off the dance floor. "I'm worn out. We can dance again later." She said. They joined Xander, Anya, Willow, and Tara over by the snack bar. "Hey guys." Buffy said brightly.

"Hi Buffy." Anya said. "Fun party."

"Yeah, it is." Buffy agreed.

Angel was looking at something across the room. "Buffy," he said, "Isn't that Ben?"

Buffy looked in the direction Angel was looking. "Yeah, it is." She said. "We should say hi. We'll be back in a minute!" she said to the other, and she and Angel headed over to talk to Ben, who was standing by the punch bowl. "Hi Ben." Buffy said.

Ben turned around. "Buffy, Angel, nice to see you." He said.

"We didn't expect to see you here." Buffy said.

"Well, I couldn't pass up a party." Ben said, grinning. "How's your mom?"

"She's doing great." Buffy said.

"That's good." Ben said, smiling.

Angel spoke up, "Dawn said you tried to help her when she was at the hospital the other day. We didn't have a chance to thank you."

"Oh, it was nothing." Ben said quickly. He looked somewhat uncomfortable.

"Hey Buffy, hey Angel." A voice behind them said. Angel turned around and saw Spike coming up to them. "Sorry I'm late."

"No problem." Buffy said. "Ben, this is our friend Spike. Spike, this is Ben. He works at the hospital; he helped us when my mother was sick."

"Hello." Ben said. "Spike. That's an interesting name."

"Uh, it's a nickname." Spike said quickly.

"How'd you get the nickname Spike?"

Spike hesitated. "I…I used to spike my hair. The name just stuck."

"Oh." Ben said.

There was silence for a moment. Spike finally said, "I'm going to go…mingle."

"Good luck with that." Buffy said as he walked away.

Ben turned back to Buffy and Angel. "Listen, if you guys ever need my help…" he pulled out a piece of paper and wrote something down on it. "If you ever have questions about…medical stuff…you know, like your mom or something, call me. I'd be happy to help."

Buffy took the paper and was about to thank him when she was distracted by something happening across the room. All three of them turned to look. A woman was holding Spike up in the air. "You are not my boyfriend!" she yelled, and she threw Spike through the window.

"Oh my god." Ben said. They hurried closer and stood by the Scoobies.

Outside, Spike stood up. "You threw me through the bloody window!" he cried.

"You cannot make those suggestions to me." The woman said. "I have a boyfriend. Warren is my boyfriend."

"You know what?" Spike yelled. "My bloody _sympathies _to Warren!" he stormed off, and Angel knew they probably wouldn't see him until tomorrow.

Buffy stepped forward as the woman tried to leave. "Excuse me. You threw Spike through a window…that was awesome. I realize Spike's kind of my friend these days and all…but that was still totally awesome. We have to talk."

"Do you know where Warren is?" the woman asked.

"Ok, I think you need to forget about Warren for a minute." Buffy said. The woman suddenly grabbed Buffy by her shirt and threw her into the wall.

"Buffy!" Angel cried, running over to her.

"I am sorry if I caused you pain." The woman said. "But I have to find Warren. Warren needs me." She walked away.

**00000000ooooooo00000000**

"So her name is April." Buffy said. They had gone into the hallway and were talking about what had just happened. The others were saying they'd already encountered her earlier.

"Yeah." Anya said. "She's been looking for her boyfriend like all day."

"You know…" Buffy said slowly, "I might just be me, but she acted like she was a-"

"A robot." Tara finished.

"Oh yeah, robot." Xander agreed.

"A robot." Angel mused. "Not my area of expertise, me being from the eighteenth century and all."

"Warren's probably her creator." Xander said. "He probably made her for…you know…sex."

"She could be dangerous, you've seen how much damage she can do." Buffy said. "Wil? Do you think you can track this guy with just a first name?"

"Eventually." Willow said. "It'll take some time but I can do it. I can probably have it narrowed down by tomorrow."

"Good." Buffy said. She turned to Angel. "We should probably get home and rescue Giles. There's probably only so much he can take."

**00000000ooooooo00000000**

"Buffy, there's only so much I can take." Giles said. "We need to work out a new system, a fourteen-year-old is really too old to be babysat."

"Uh oh." Angel said, grinning.

"What did she make you do?" Buffy asked, also grinning.

"Well first we listened to aggressively cheerful music sang by people chosen by their ability to dance." Giles began. "Then we ate cookie dough and talked about boys."

Buffy and Angel both laughed. "Sorry." Buffy said. "If it makes you feel better, our evening took a downturn too. It included watching a robot throw Spike through a window. Wait…I wouldn't trade that memory for anything."

"A robot?" Giles asked, looking interested.

"Yeah." Angel said. "Willow was going to look into it. We'll talk about it tomorrow."

"Unless you want to stay a while." Buffy said. "You can stay and we'll-"

She was cut off as Joyce walked in. "Who wants to hear about everything?" she asked happily.

"Listen to my mom talk about boys." Buffy finished, smiling a little.

"Goodbye." Giles said. "Goodnight, Joyce."

"Bye Rupert." Joyce said as Giles closed the door. She turned to Buffy. "We had a great time." She said excitedly. "I forgot how much fun first dates can be."

Buffy raised her eyebrows. "Really? Seemed pretty tame to me. I didn't see the guy. I didn't even see a goodnight kiss."

Joyce put her bag down on the table. "Well, I suppose it was pretty dull by your standards," Angel gave Buffy a look that caused her to roll her eyes. "But…oh no." Joyce said suddenly.

"What?" Buffy asked.

"I left my bra in his car."

Buffy looked appalled. "Mother!"

"Just kidding." Joyce said, smiling. "I left it in the restaurant."

"I'm not listening!" Buffy shouted, starting to run up the stairs, pulling Angel behind her and then covering her ears.

"On the desert cart!" Joyce called after them.

"I can't hear you!" Buffy yelled.

**0000000000ooooooo0000000000**

The next day, Willow tracked down this Warren guy, and Buffy and Angel went to his parent's house where they were betting he was staying for spring break. Buffy knocked on the door, and a man about her age opened the door with a woman standing next to him. "Hi." Buffy said.

"Is this about April?" Warren asked.

"Yes."

"Who?" the woman next to Warren asked. "Warren, this is too much, tell them to go away."

"I'm sorry Katrina, I can't."

"Warren-"

"Katrina," Warren said, "Shut up."

Katrina looked furious. "Fine. That's it. I'm leaving." She walked past Buffy and Angel and left.

"Katrina!" Warren called desperately. He sighed. "Come in." he said. Buffy and Angel walked in the house.

"My name is Buffy Summers." Buffy said. "We were at Sunnydale High together. Do you know who I am?"

"Yes." Warren replied.

"This is Angel." Buffy said. "We need to talk about April."

"First," Warren said, "There's something you need to understand about April. Something you couldn't possibly know."

"Actually," Buffy began.

"No, this is important."

"But-"

"Listen!" Warren took a deep breath. "She's a robot."

Buffy stared at him in disbelief. "Yeah." She said.

"Duh." Angel said.

A few minutes later, they were sitting on the couch. "She was supposed to be perfect." Warren said. "I made her to like whatever I liked…the ideal girl."

"So you made a toy." Angel said angrily. He couldn't believe anyone would do something like that.

"No, you don't understand." Warren said. "I made her to love me. I didn't make a toy. I made a girlfriend."

"A girlfriend." Buffy repeated. "And then what happened?"

"I met Katrina." Warren said. "And she was so…interesting. I love in love with Katrina."

"And you got rid of April." Angel finished.

"Well…I didn't get rid of her so much as I…left her in my apartment and never came back."

"Oh my god!" Buffy cried. "How do you live with yourself?"

"Her battery was supposed to run out." Warren sighed. "It should have run out ages ago."

"And why hasn't it?" Buffy asked.

"I don't know." Warren admitted. "I guess she must be recharging it somehow."

"Is she dangerous?" Angel asked.

"She was just programmed to be in love with me." Warren replied.

"She's dangerous." Buffy and Angel said at the same time.

**00000000ooooooo00000000**

Warren, Buffy, and Angel were walking around, looking for April. "April!" Warren shouted. "I programmed her so she has to respond to my voice calling her." He explained.

"She's voice activated?" Buffy practically screamed.

"Well…if she doesn't respond she'd hit with shock waves."

"If she doesn't respond to you it hurts her?" Buffy cried.

"You are a horrible person." Angel said.

Warren ignored this. "April!" he shouted.

"Warren!" April suddenly cried. She was standing by a playground…holding an unconscious Katrina. "This girl was lying. She said she was your girlfriend. Then she went to sleep."

"Oh my god, Katrina!" Warren cried. "April, put her down!"

Buffy took Katrina from April and carried her to a bench. She felt for a pulse. "She's alive." She said. "She's alive."

"I waited for you." April told Warren. "I made you five sweaters."

Angel mouthed to Buffy, _"Sweaters?"_

"That's great, honey, why don't you go get them and I'll-" Warren began, but Buffy cut him off.

"Warren." She said. "Do this right."

Warren sighed. "April, you're a great girlfriend. But I can't love you."

April looked confused. "Why not?"

Warren panicked. "I love her!" he yelled, pointing at Buffy.

"Hey!" Angel yelled furiously. "That's my girlfriend you're talking about!"

April attacked Buffy. Buffy jumped up and fought back. While this was happening, Katrina woke up, and looked around in time to see Buffy kick April, causing her to spark and some wires to show. Katrina jumped up, shocked. "That's a robot!" she cried.

"She wasn't just for sex." Warren said absentmindedly as he watched April and Buffy.

"Is…is that your ex girlfriend?" Katrina cried.

"Dude." Angel said, looking at Warren. "When your girlfriend wakes up and sees you and your robot girl, who almost killed her, the first thing you say is not, 'She wasn't just for sex'." He hit April in the head as she stumbled toward him. Katrina stormed off. Warren ran after her.

April looked around. "Warren?" she called. She stopped fighting. "He's gone."

Buffy looked at Angel. "Did you actually just use the word 'dude' a minute ago?"

**00000000ooooooo00000000**

Buffy and Angel met Xander at UC Sunnydale, where he was repairing the window that April and Spike had broken. "So she broke down?" Xander asked.

"Yep." Buffy replied. "Not a problem anymore. I feel kind of bad for her, though. All she wanted was to love Warren. It wasn't her fault he was a complete jerk." She smiled and rested her head on Angel's shoulder. "At least I'll never have to worry about that."

"Of course you won't." Angel replied, smiling. They kissed.

Buffy smiled and looked at her watch. "Oh, I have to leave soon."

"Where are you going?" Xander asked.

Buffy's smile broadened. "Mom is going to go with Dawn, Willow, and me, and we're going to look at dresses for the wedding. You know, bridesmaid dresses and…a wedding dress." She giggled. "We're going to pick up Willow right after Dawn gets out of school, which is soon."

"I've got stuff to do too." Angel said. "I told Giles I'd go down to Willy's and see if he knew anything about Glory. It's a long shot but it's worth a try."

"I'll see you tonight?" Buffy said.

"Yep." He kissed her. "Bye Xander." He said, and left.

"Yeah, bye Xander." Buffy added, and she headed off too.

"Bye guys!" Xander called after them. "Ok, come on Mr. Window…"

**00000000ooooooo00000000**

Buffy walked into her house and put her bag down. There was a bouquet of flowers sitting on the table. She looked at the card and saw they were for her mother from her date last night. She smiled.

"Mom?" she called. "Where are you? Are you ready to go?" she turned and saw Joyce on the couch. "What are you doing?" she asked. Then her smiled faded when she saw how pale Joyce was. "Mom? Mom? Mommy?"

'**You're a horrible person' Angel says. He has no idea…*thinks about season six and whimpers*. Oh, and poor Joyce. The next chapter is sad. It should be on by tomorrow. Please review!**


	16. The Body

**Chapter/episode 16: The Body. This is going to be sad.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Buffy the Vampire Slayer**

_Previously on Buffy the Vampire Slayer…_

_ Buffy walked into her house and put her bag down. There was a bouquet of flowers sitting on the table. She looked at the card and saw they were for her mother from her date last night. She smiled._

_ "Mom?" she called. "Where are you? Are you ready to go?" she turned and saw Joyce on the couch. "What are you doing?" she asked. Then her smile faded when she saw how pale Joyce was. "Mom? Mom? Mommy?_

Angel was done beating up Willy the Snitch. He had bribed him first, like Giles told him too, but Willy just needed a little more convincing. He was about to leave the bar when his phone rang. He answered it. "Hello?"

"Angel," Giles's voice said.

"Giles, I just finished with Willy. He didn't know-"

"Forget that right now, Angel. Something's happened."

Angel froze. "Is it Glory? Did she find Dawn?"

"No, it's not Glory. It's Joyce."

Angel felt full of dread. He thought the danger with Joyce was over. "What happened, Giles?"

"Well…Buffy found her when she got home, and…she died."

Though Angel had been expecting him to say that, he was still horrified. "Is Buffy ok?"

"Um, I'm with her now, we're waiting for them to come get the body. I think she needs you."

"Ok, I can be there in a few minutes. What about Dawn?"

"Dawn doesn't know yet."

"Right. Ok, I'll be there as soon as I can." He hung up. All he could think about was Buffy, and the pain she had to be in at that moment.

He ran out to his car. He had no intention of driving at the speed limit.

**0000000ooooooo0000000**

When Angel parked outside the house, a couple of men were carrying a black body bag outside. Angel jumped out of the car and ran inside. "Buffy?"

Buffy was sitting on the stairs, crying. Angel hurried to her side put his arms around her. She put her arms around him too and cried into his shoulder. "She's g-gone, s-she's g-gone…"

"I know." Angel whispered soothingly. "I know. It's going to be ok, baby, it's going to be ok."

Giles came up to them. Angel looked up at him, not pulling away from Buffy. "Someone has to tell Dawn." Giles said. Angel nodded.

"I want t-to." Buffy said, looking up and wiping her eyes.

"Are you sure?" Giles asked.

"Yes." Buffy said, standing up. "I should tell her." She hesitated. Then she looked at Angel. "Please come with me."

"Of course." Angel said, standing up. Buffy grabbed his hand.

"We should call the Scoobies." She said.

"We will." Angel promised. "But Dawn first."

Buffy nodded. "Right."

Angel squeezed her hand gently and led her out to the car.

**0000000ooooooo0000000**

Angel and Buffy walked into the school. Angel guided Buffy into the door that said _Office._ A young woman was sitting at a desk. Buffy went up to the desk, still holding Angel's hand. The woman smiled. "Hello, may I help you?"

"I need to see Dawn Summers." Buffy said. "I'm her sister, Buffy, and this is my fiancé, Angel. It's an emergency. Could you tell me where I can find her?"

The woman must have been able to tell by the looks on Buffy and Angel's faces that it was really an emergency, because she looked sympathetic and checked her computer. "Let me see…Summers…Dawn Summers. She's in the art room just around the corner to the left. You can't miss it, it's full of windows."

"Thank you." Angel said. He and Buffy left the office and followed her directions to find the art room.

"I can see her in there." Buffy said. Dawn was sitting, drawing something and talking to a boy sitting next to her.

"Are you sure you can do this?" Angel asked gently. Buffy nodded and opened the door and walked inside the classroom, still holding Angel's hand.

"Can I help you?" the teacher asked, frowning.

"My name is Buffy Summers." Buffy said. "I'm Dawn's sister. This is Angel. We need to take Dawn. It's an emergency."

"What kind of emergency, exactly?" the teacher asked.

"It's our mother." Buffy said. "She…died." Buffy's voice cracked, and Angel put his hand on her shoulder.

"Oh my god." The teacher said, looking shocked. "I'm…I'm so sorry. Dawn's over there."

Buffy nodded and walked down to Dawn's row, where she was sitting at the end. "Dawn."

Dawn turned and looked very surprised. "Buffy? Angel? What are you guys doing here?"

"We need you to come with us." Buffy said quietly.

Dawn looked confused. "But…can I finish here first?"

Buffy shook her head. "Dawn," Angel said softly, "It's important."

Dawn grabbed her bag and followed Buffy and Angel out of the classroom. "What is it?" she asked when they were out. "Glory?"

"No." Buffy said. She was crying again. Angel rubbed her hand comfortingly. Buffy took a deep breath and continued. "Dawn, something happened…to mom."

"What?" Dawn asked. "No…no…"

Buffy took Dawn's hand with her free one. "She died."

"No!" Dawn screamed. "No, I don't believe you! You're lying. You're lying to me!" tears streamed down her face. She dropped to her knees. Angel was aware of her entire art class watching. "No…no, it's not true, no." she sobbed. She buried her face into Buffy's shirt. Buffy was still crying too. Angel could do nothing but hold them both in his arms and try to comfort them.

**0000000ooooooo0000000**

Buffy, Dawn, and Angel were sitting in the waiting room of the hospital. The others would be arriving soon. Giles was taking care of some of the paperwork and stuff in the other room.

Dawn was sitting in a chair in the corner, not responding to anyone. Angel and Buffy were sitting next to each other. Buffy was curled up in the chair and Angel had his arm around her. Buffy's head rested on his chest. She wasn't crying, but her pain was all too clear to Angel. It hurt him to see her in so much pain.

"We spend too much time in hospitals." Buffy said quietly.

"Yeah." Angel agreed. "We do." He watched her expression. There was so much sadness in her eyes; it cut Angel like a knife. "Is there something I can do?" he asked.

"Hold me." Buffy whispered. "Just hold me. Like you are now." Angel nodded.

"Buffy!" Willow was the first one in the room, followed closely by Xander, and then Tara and Anya. Buffy stood up and walked into the open arms of her best friend. "We can as soon as we heard." Willow said.

Angel stood up and walked over to Tara. "Can you try to talk to Dawn? She's over there and she won't talk to anyone, I'm worried about her. I know you two are close, do you think you can give it a shot?"

Tara nodded. "Of course." She said, and went to talk to Dawn.

Everyone else sat down. Giles eventually joined them. They waited a while before the doctor came to talk to them. "Well?" Buffy asked. "What happened?"

"It was an effect of her surgery." The doctor explained what happened.

"Well shouldn't they have caught that earlier?" Angel asked.

"You often just can't tell with these things. Joyce knew of the risk. I'm very sorry for your loss." He walked away.

Buffy sat back down. Dawn walked up to her. "I have to pee." She said.

"Do you want someone to go with you?" Buffy asked.

"No. I still remember how to pee."

Buffy nodded. "The bathroom's over there." Dawn left.

"I'm going to find something to do with all these snacks I got." Xander said, looking at the enormous pile of food he had gotten.

"I'll help you." Willow said. They got up, with their arms full of snacks. Anya followed.

"I should finish the paperwork." Giles said, getting up.

Just Buffy, Tara, and Angel were left. Angel looked at Buffy. She was watching Dawn walk away. Angel knew Buffy valued Dawn's life over everything else. But he also knew she needed a break, she needed to have a chance to mourn herself. He had an idea.

"I'll be right back." He said, and got up, leaving Buffy and Tara.

Angel followed Willow, Xander, and Anya. He found them walking back halfway down the hall. "Willow!" he called.

Willow looked up. "Angel."

Angel stopped in front of her. "Can I ask you a favor?"

**0000000ooooooo0000000**

When Angel and Willow came back into the waiting room, Buffy and Dawn were just walking back in as well. Something was wrong, Angel could tell. Well, something was wrong _in addition _to Joyce's death. "What happened?" he asked, hurrying over to them.

"Dawn went to see mom." Buffy said faintly. "I went after her. While we were in there one of the bodies became a vampire and attacked us. But he's gone now."

"Oh, honey." Angel said, hugging her tightly. "Are you both ok?"

"Yeah." Dawn said. "We're ok. I want to go home now."

Angel looked at Willow, who nodded. "Willow and Tara are going to take you home." He said to Dawn. "They'll stay with you."

Dawn nodded and joined Willow and Tara. Buffy looked at Angel. "Where are we going?"

"The mansion." Angel said. "Just you and me. And if you want to be alone, I can leave for a while."

Buffy shook her head and took his hand. "I want you with me."

**0000000ooooooo0000000**

Angel and Buffy walked inside the mansion. Buffy went straight up to their bedroom, and Angel followed.

Buffy took a shower and got ready for bed. Angel did the same. Then Angel turned off the light and they climbed into bed. "Remember what I said about holding me?" Buffy asked softly.

"Yeah." Angel said, and pulled her into his arms.

"I can't believe she's gone." Buffy said quietly. "I miss her so much already. She was going to take me and Dawn and Willow shopping today for my wedding dress and the bridesmaid dresses."

"I remember." Angel said.

"Oh, Angel, she's not going to be at the wedding! She's never going to see us get married, and she was so excited about it. What am I going to do without her?" she broke down into tears again. And again, Angel could to nothing but hold her.

**Poor Buffy. Poor Dawn. Poor all of them. Please review!**


	17. Forever

**Chapter/episode 17: Forever. More Sadness.**

**Sorry for the delay in getting this online.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Buffy.**

Buffy, Angel, Dawn, and Giles were looking at coffins for Joyce's funeral. Dawn was wandering around the room while Buffy, Giles, and Angel sorted out getting the coffin. "Do you think it's the one Mom would like?" Dawn asked suddenly. "I mean, she's the one who has to be in it forever."

Buffy looked sadly at her sister. "Dawn, maybe it wasn't such a good idea, you coming along."

"I'm fine." Dawn said.

"I'm serious." Buffy continued. "You shouldn't have to worry about this stuff."

"If you would like a couple more minutes to decide," the man began.

"No." Buffy said. "It's done."

Angel walked over to Dawn and put his arm around her gently. "I'm sorry, Dawnie." He said softly.

"Yeah." Dawn sighed. "Everybody's sorry." She was quiet for a moment. "You said she was going to be ok."

"I thought she was." Angel said sadly. "I was wrong."

"I can't believe she's gone." Dawn whispered. Angel hugged her as she started to cry.

"I'm sorry." He whispered back. "I'm sorry."

**00000000ooooooo00000000**

That night, Buffy was lying on their bed, waiting for Angel. They had all spent the day planning for tomorrow's funeral, something Buffy was deeply dreading. Standing around listening to people tell her how sorry they were for her…it wasn't going to help the emptiness she felt without her mom. She'd been strong around Dawn and everyone else. Angel was the only one who'd seen her break down. He'd stood by her every moment, and she loved him for it. She'd been sharp with him a few times in the last couple of days, but he hadn't cared or even mentioned it.

She rolled over and faced the window. Tears streamed down her face again. She heard the door open and knew it was Angel. She didn't react. "Buffy?" he said quietly. "I know you're not asleep."

"I wasn't pretending to be."

Angel sighed. He hated seeing her like this. He knew it was only natural, but he wished he could do something. He knew there was nothing to do but wait. Time would pass, and both Buffy and Dawn would heal.

Dawn. There was another issue. Angel hadn't brought it up yet, but he knew he had to. He sat down next to Buffy and rubbed her back gently. "Sweetie?" he asked. "I think we need to talk about something."

"What is it now?" Buffy sighed.

"I've been thinking about Dawn. The fact is that now that your mother is…gone, there's going to be the issue of what happens to Dawn, who's still a minor."

"Your point being?"

"Is your dad going to want her?"

Buffy was silent for a moment before she answered. "No. He won't. He's still in Spain; he'll say he's too busy."

"Considering that," Angel continued, "You…we can probably get custody of Dawn. That fact that your dad won't want her to live with him and the fact that we need to protect her from Glory makes me feel like that's the best course of action. Otherwise it's probably foster care, unless your dad does decide to take her in. Do you agree?"

"You're right." Buffy said, still not looking at him.

"I can take care of the legal stuff." Angel continued quickly. "You don't have to worry about it, ok?"

"Whatever."

"Are you sure you're ok?"

She sat up suddenly and looked at him. "No, Angel, I'm not ok. I'm so far from ok it's unbelievable. And you aren't helping. All you do is ask me stupid questions again and again, and it doesn't help me feel better. You can ask me how I feel for the rest of eternity but it's not going to change the fact that my mother is gone and I'm not going to get her back!" he voice caught and she met his eyes. "She died, Angel. She's dead."

"I know." Angel replied.

"She's dead." Buddy repeated. Then she just got into bed. Angel did the same and put his arms around her. They were both silent, and Angel just held her and listened to her cry until she fell asleep.

**00000000ooooooo00000000**

The funeral was the next day. Dawn didn't speak all day. Buffy and Angel greeted people as they arrived and listened to everyone tell them how sorry they were for their loss. Most of the guests were people Joyce knew from work. All of the Scoobies came. Spike had even wanted to come, but the sun was still up. He'd brought over flowers the night before.

"That's everybody, right?" Buffy asked Angel, looking around.

Angel looked around too, and said, "Not quite."

Buffy turned when somebody said, "Hi Buffy."

"Cordelia." Buffy said. Cordelia gave her a sad look and hugged her.

"As soon as I heard I made sure I'd be here." Cordelia said when she pulled away. "They others send their condolences."

"Thanks for coming, Cordy." Buffy said.

"Now I think that's everyone." Angel said. He took Buffy's hand, and the two of them and Cordelia walked over to where the people were gathering around where Joyce would be buried.

**00000000ooooooo00000000**

It was dark after the funeral ended. Cordelia came up to Angel. "How is she?" she asked, looking at Buffy, who was standing next to her mother's grave, just staring at it.

"As you'd expect." Angel sighed.

"And Dawn?"

"Same."

"And you?"

"I don't know. I liked Joyce, I'll definitely miss her. But after you've seen as many people die as I have…it doesn't get easier, but you get used to it. I hate seeing Buffy like this, though."

Cordelia nodded. "I'm sorry about everything." She said. "I wish I could stay, but I have to leave. I need to get back to L.A. Tell Buffy I said goodbye."

Angel nodded. He said goodbye, and she left. The Scoobies left too. Willow and Tara took Dawn. Eventually it was just Angel and Buffy, who was still staring at her mother's grave. Angel walked up to her and gently pulled her over to sit with him, leaning up against a tree next to the grave. Buffy drew a shuddered breath and then started to cry again. "Shh, honey, shh." Angel soothed, pulling her close.

"I can't." Buffy sobbed. "I can't stop."

Angel nodded. "Then cry. It'll make you feel better."

"I can't believe she's gone." Buffy whispered. "She won't be at the wedding, Angel. She was so excited about seeing us get married, but she won't get to see it. It's not fair."

"You're right." Angel said. "It's not."

"I wish I could see her one last time." Buffy whispered. "She really did like you, you know, Angel. I know she was uncertain about our relationship at first, but she did grow to like you. She told me. She knew we were both happy, and that's all she needed."

Angel nodded. "I liked her too. She was a great woman. I miss her too, Buffy, I really do. If I could change what happened-"

"There's nothing any of us could have done." Buffy sighed. Then she paused, "Well…except…"

Angel looked at her. "What?"

"I can't help but think that if I had gotten there sooner, maybe I could have saved her."

"No, Buffy, don't blame this on yourself." Angel said immediately. "You couldn't have done anything. You shouldn't hold yourself responsible for something you couldn't have prevented."

"Look who's talking." Buffy replied. Then she sighed. "Maybe you're right. Maybe I couldn't have. Right now, I'm just worried about tomorrow."

"What's tomorrow?"

"That's exactly what I don't know. The last couple of days have been all about planning for her funeral and that kind of stuff, but tomorrow…"

"Life begins again." Angel finished.

"Exactly. And I don't know how I'm going to do it. Everyone's expecting me to go back to normal."

"No one's expecting that. They know what you're going through."

Buffy sighed again. "I suppose." Angel kissed her. After they pulled away, Buffy said, "Let's go home."

**00000000ooooooo00000000**

Angel sensed it the moment they walked in the door. "Stop." He said suddenly. Buffy paused and looked at him.

"What?"

Angel frowned. There was magick in the house. And not pure and good magick, the less-pleasant dark type stuff. This wasn't good.

"Dawn?" Buffy said suddenly. Dawn was in the living room. She was holding a picture of Joyce. "What are you doing?"

Angel looked at Dawn suspiciously. "Dawn," he began. Suddenly there was a noise from outside. "What did you do?"

"I…I…" Dawn stammered.

"Out with it, Dawn!" Angel said sharply, glancing outside nervously.

"I did a spell." Dawn said. "I…I brought Mom back."

Angel was horrified. Stuff like that was a bad idea. The people never came back the way they were before. Sometimes you had a shot if the person was killed by magical energy (though it still was a bad idea), but in Joyce's case… "Did Willow and Tara teach you how?" he asked angrily.

"No. I tried but they wouldn't help…so I went to…"

"Yes?" Angel prompted.

"Spike."

Angel groaned. "Of course you did. I am going to beat up Spike tomorrow."

Buffy was staring at the window. "Angel…" she said slowly. Angel and Dawn looked and saw a shadow moving across the window from outside. Buffy couldn't look away, which made Angel nervous.

"Dawn, this is a bad idea. The thing out there isn't your mom, because it never works like that. Undo the spell, Dawn." He said. They both looked at Buffy again. Angel grabbed her arm to keep her from running to the door. "Dawn, do it now!"

Dawn bit her lip, then ripped the picture in half. Angel let go of Buffy's arm and watched as she opened the door, but there was nothing there. "Thanks, Dawn." Angel said. "Now go to bed."

**000000000ooooooo000000000**

**The Next Day**

Angel walked into Spike's crypt. "Spike!"

"Hey Angel." Spike said. Next thing he knew, Angel had punched him and was pinning him against the wall. "What the bloody hell was that for?" Spike gasped.

"How _dare _you help Dawn do something so dangerous!" Angel shouted, dropped Spike to the floor. "You know those spells never end well! What were you thinking?"

"I just wanted to help her." Spike said, standing up. "She was crying out for help, what was I supposed to do?"

"Explain to her why she can't do it. Comfort her some other way. There are lots of things you could have done, Spike, but you chose to help her do something as dangerous as bringing her mother back from the dead!"

"Did she do it?" Spike asked.

"No. I talked her into stopping."

"Well maybe she just needed the lesson, Angel. When it came down to it, she knew she couldn't do it. She just had to realize it. If you ask me, it did her some good."

Angel just shook his head. "Whatever." He said. He didn't argue, possibly because part of him wondered if he was right. He turned to leave. "I'll see you later."

"You could say sorry for attacking me!" Spike yelled after him.

Angel stopped and turned to look at him. "I could. But I won't." then he walked out without another word, trying not to grin at the look on Spike's face.

**Not the most cheerful chapter in the world. But on the bright side, angsty scenes always lead to Buffy/Angel comfort scenes, which are nice. And on the other bright side, the next chapter is Intervention, which is funny! Yay! Please review!**


	18. Intervention

**Chapter/episode 18: Intervention. A few major changes to this one due to the fact we have a lack of Spuffy, but I had to do some version of it. Hopefully it's still funny.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Buffy.**

Buffy, Dawn, Angel, and Giles were washing dinner dishes. Giles had been helping as much as he could since Joyce's death, something Angel knew Buffy appreciated.

Buffy turned to Dawn. "Go make sure there aren't any plates in your room before they become fuzzy and then we have to name them."

"I was like, five then." Dawn grumbled, but she went upstairs anyway.

"How is she?" Giles asked. Buffy gave him a look. Giles nodded. "And you?"

"I'm ok. Some minutes are harder than others." Buffy sighed. Angel kissed the top of her head.

"I was wondering if you were ready to return to regular training." Giles said. Buffy hesitated.

"I was thinking we could take a break from the training for a little while." She said in a rush, like she wanted to get the words out.

"But we have to be prepared for Glory." Giles insisted.

"I'm not sure I like what my training's doing to me." Buffy admitted quietly. She walked out of the room.

Giles looked at Angel, and the two of them followed. "What do you mean, Buffy?" Angel asked with concern.

"You're doing so well." Giles said. "Your strength and resilience-"

"Yeah." Buffy interrupted. "Strength, resilience. Those are all words for hardness. Giles, I'm starting to feel like being the Slayer is turning me to stone." She looked at Angel and then back at Giles. "I'm getting married in a couple of months, Giles. And I love Angel…" she trailed off, meeting Angel's anxious eyes before continuing, "I love Angel more than I thought it was possible to love anyone." A small smile appeared on Angel's face as she said that. "But these days I'm finding it harder to show him that, to even tell him that. My mother just died, and I loved her so much, and…and I'm not sure if she knew."

"Of course she knew." Giles said. "She knew you loved her. You're not turning to stone, Buffy."

"Giles," Buffy said, standing in front of him. "I love you. Love, love, love, it sounds strange, Giles!"

"How serious are you about this?" Giles asked.

"Ten." Buffy replied. "Serious to the amount of ten."

"There is one thing mentioned in the diaries," Giles said slowly, "in the past, something Slayers have found helpful…a quest."

"A quest?" Buffy repeated, glancing at Angel, who shrugged. "Like finding a grail?"

"Not a grail." Giles said. "Maybe answers. There's a desert not far from here that has great spiritual power. It would only be a day, maybe two."

"No." Buffy said immediately. "I can't leave Dawn."

"Sure you can." Dawn said, walking into the room. "What's going on?"

"There's a quest to help me understand more about being the Slayer." Buffy said. "But I'm not going. I won't leave you here alone."

"What am I?" Angel cried indignantly. "I could take care of her."

"Yeah." Dawn said. "If this quest thing is going to help you, I think you should do it. I can hang with Angel and the gang."

Buffy smiled and hugged Dawn. "I love you, Dawn. You know that, right?"

"Yeah." Dawn said. "I love you too."

"I _love _you." Buffy said again.

"Gettin' weird." Dawn said. Grinning, Buffy hugged her again.

"I just need to make sure you know. Weird love is better than no love."

**00000000ooooooo00000000**

Later that night, Buffy and Angel were in their room. Angel was reading a book. Eventually he looked up and saw that Buffy was looking at the large drawing Angel had given her for her birthday, the one of her family. He smiled and joined her. "I know you love them. All of them. You're not losing your ability to love, Buffy. I should know."

"It just scares me. But I have faith in Giles, and if he thinks this quest will help, then I do too." Buffy said. She looked at Angel. "You can take care of everything, right? You can watch Dawn and do patrolling and all that stuff?"

"Your lack of faith in me is insulting." Angel teased. "Of course I can. The gang and I have everything under control. Once you go to this desert you'll feel better, and then we can deal with Glory."

"Yeah." Buffy agreed. She hesitated a moment, and then said, "Angel? Do you think we're in over our heads with Glory?"

Angel contemplated. "No." he said. He met Buffy's eyes. "I think Glory's in over her head with us."

Buffy smiled. "I love you. You know that, right?"

"Of course I do. And I love you too."

**00000000ooooooo00000000**

**The Next Night**

Angel had been out patrolling. He had left Dawn at Xander's apartment with Willow and Tara. Xander and Anya were patrolling the other side of the graveyard. It had been a fairly quiet night so far, but that probably meant he would be attacked by a large group by the end of the night.

"Angel!"

Angel turned around and saw Spike hurrying toward him. "Hi Spike. Have you had any excitement yet tonight? Cause it's been pretty boring over here."

"Forget that." Spike said. "I've got something to show you." He turned to the trees and called, "Come on out, pet."

Angel was shocked to see Buffy step out of the trees. Expect it wasn't Buffy. It looked like Buffy but there was no way it was Buffy. He knew Buffy well enough to tell. "Spike, what the hell is that?"

"Hello Angel." Buffy said. "We're in love. I love you."

Angel turned to Spike furiously. "You have thirty seconds to explain, or I'm going to-"

But whatever Angel was going to do they never found out, because just then a huge group of vamps came at them from all sides. Angel yelled, "I'll take that half, you take that half."

"But what about her?" Spike asked, pointing to the not-Buffy.

"I really don't care about her, just fight off the stupid vampires!"

The not-Buffy proved to be quite good at fighting off vampires, though. "You cannot touch my friends." She said, and attacked the vampires.

"You have so much explaining to do." Angel grumbled to Spike, and the two of them joined her.

It wasn't hard to win. Angel staked the last vamp and turned around. "Now…" he trailed off. They had disappeared. He looked around and saw Spike leading the not-Buffy in the direction of his crypt. Angel sighed and decided to meet them there.

**00000000ooooooo00000000**

Angel walked into Spike's crypt and found Spike and the not-Buffy. "Ok, Spike, tell me what's going on? We both know that's not Buffy."

The not-Buffy stepped forward. "Of course I am Buffy. You are Angel. I think you are handsome. Do you want to have sex?"

"_What?_ No! Spike, explanation, now!"

"Relax, Peaches." Spike said. "This is the Buffybot. I had that Warren guy build her, you know, like that April girl he'd built. I thought she'd be good for times like this when Buffy's not her. She could patrol and the demons and such would never know she was gone. Cool, huh?"

Angel stared at him. "I don't think that'll work, Spike. I mean, who would fall for that?"

"Xander and Anya seemed pretty convinced." Spike replied.

"Xander and Anya?"

"Yeah, we ran into them before we ran into you. They thought it was Buffy."

"And did you tell them that it wasn't Buffy?"

"Well…no."

Angel groaned. "This is going to be really bad, isn't it?"

Suddenly Xander walked in. He seemed surprised to see Angel. "What are you doing here?"

"Yelling at Spike."

"Oh, you too?" Xander said. He glanced at the Buffybot that he thought was Buffy and then turned back to Spike and Angel. "I'm worried about Buffy." He said as quietly as he could. "When we saw her before…well she didn't even ask about Dawn. I wonder what happened on that trip."

Angel sighed. He couldn't believe Xander had actually fallen for it. Turns out he was a stupid as Angel had thought he was. "Xander," he began, but was cut off when a bunch of very ugly looking creatures walked in.

"Gentlemen," the leader of the creatures. "Could I have a word?"

"Friends of either of yours?" Angel asked. The creature punched Xander and another grabbed Spike. "Guess not." He punched one as it tried to grab him too. The creatures swarmed around Angel and Spike and started dragging them away. "Xander!" Angel shouted. Xander stood up but Angel and Spike were already gone.

"This is not good." Xander said. "Come on, Buffy." He grabbed the Buffybot's hand and they left the crypt.

**000000000ooooooo00000000**

Xander and the Buffybot walked into Xander's apartment, where Willow, Tara, and Anya were waiting. "We've got a problem." Xander said.

"They took Angel and Spike." The Buffybot said.

"What?" Tara asked. "Who?"

"I think they were Glory's minions." Xander said. "But what I don't get is why they didn't take me or Buffy. We were in plain sight but they just wanted Angel and Spike."

"Angel won't tell about Dawn, and I don't think Spike will either." Willow said. "So we don't need to be worried about that."

"But we have to save Angel." The Buffybot said. "I love him."

"Don't worry, Buffy, we will." Willow said reassuringly, walking over to the Buffybot.

The Buffybot looked at her. "You're Willow." She said. "You're my best friend."

Willow gave her a weird look but said, "Yeah, I am."

"You're recently gay."

"What?" Willow cried, taken aback. "Uh, never mind. Tara, can you stay here and watch Dawn?"

"Of course." Tara said.

"Good." Xander said. "Come on. Buffy, what do we do?"

Buffybot looked at everyone, and everyone looked at her. "I fight with weapons." She said finally.

"You're right, I've got nothing." Xander said. "Ok, we'll stop by your house and get weapons. Come on, guys."

Everyone except Tara headed for the door. "Anya." The Buffybot said to Anya. "How is your money?"

"Fine, thank you for asking!" Anya cried, pleased.

**00000000ooooooo00000000**

Spike was brought into a room and saw Glory sitting on a bed. She looked up when the minions brought him in. "What is that, and why is its hair that color?" she asked. Then they brought Angel. She looked at him with interest. "Hello handsome."

"Oh, of course." Spike said, rolling his eyes and looking at Angel. "She thinks you're good looking. I'm Mr. 'What is that and why is its hair that color', but she thinks you're attractive."

"Oh stunning Glory, we believe one of these two people might be the Key." The lead minion said.

"Really?" Glory asked. "That's fantastic! And impossible. These two are both vampires. The Key has to be pure. And vampires equal impure. You can't even brain suck a vampire. They're completely useless."

"But the Slayer protected them above all others." The minion insisted. "She treated them as precious."

"Precious, huh?" Glory said, looking interested. "Maybe they're not completely useless. Let's see what we can learn from you, precious."

"We won't tell you anything." Angel said. Glory smiled at him.

"We'll see." She said.

**00000000ooooooo00000000**

The Buffybot, Xander, Willow, and Anya walked into the Summers' house. "This is my house." The Buffybot said. She turned to Xander. "You're a carpenter."

"Um…yes I am. I think we should focus." Xander said. He walked over to Buffy's trunk of weapons and started handing Willow and Anya stuff.

"Oh good, weapons. Give me something big and sharp." The Buffybot said.

The others glanced at each other. "So where should we look first, Buffy?" Willow asked.

"How should I know?" the Buffybot replied. More glances.

"You're right, you shouldn't have to know everything." Xander said quickly.

Suddenly the door opened and the real Buffy walked in. She froze when she saw the Buffybot. "Holy crap." She said.

"Huh?" Willow cried.

"I'm confused." Anya said.

"I know this!" Xander yelled. "They're both Buffy!"

"No." Buffy said, snapping out of her shock. "She's a robot!"

"You look like me." The Buffybot said. "We're very pretty."

"She's just like that April girl." Buffy said. The after a moment, "You guys couldn't tell me apart from a _robot_?"

"But why would someone have made a Buffy robot?" Willow asked.

"Spike." Xander said suddenly. "We first saw her with Spike. I think he knew. And Angel! When I saw him at Spike's crypt, I was talking about when I saw her and Spike and Angel was going to say something about it when the minion guys showed up."

"Minion guys?" Buffy cried, alarmed.

"Glory has taken Angel and Spike." The Buffybot told her. "We have to save them."

"Glory has Angel?" Buffy yelled. "We've got to find them and kick her ass."

"Where do we look, though?" Xander asked.

"I think I know where to start." Buffy said.

**00000000ooooooo00000000**

Angel and Spike were both in considerable pain. Glory was torturing them for information on the Key. "Alright!" Spike yelled finally. "We'll tell you who the sodding Key is."

Angel gave him a look, but Spike returned him one that said _"Trust me." _Angel didn't trust him but decided to see where he was going with this. "It's that guy." Spike said. "That guy…on the TV."

Glory gave him a look of disbelief. "On the television?"

Angel caught on. "Yeah." He said. "On that show…where they guess the price of stuff."

"The Price is Right?" a minion suggested.

"Yeah, that's the one." Spike said.

"Bob Barker!" cried the second minion. "We will bring you the limp and beaten body of Bob Barker!"

"It's not Bob Barker you idiots." Glory said. "The Key is new to this world. And Bob Barker's as old as grit. The vampires are lying to me."

Spike started to laugh. "Yeah." He said. "Sorry. I just had no idea gods were such prancing lightweights, that's all."

"So guess what?" Angel said. "We aren't telling you a damn thing."

"And mark my words." Spike continued. "The Slayer is going to kick your skanky, lopsided ass-"

"Back to whatever dimension would take a cheap," Angel said.

"Whorish,"

"Fashion victim, ex-god like you." Angel finished.

Glory lost her temper and kicked them both through the wall. It hurt. A lot. "Great plan, Spike." Spike murmured to himself.

"This way." Angel groaned. They went for the elevator. They knew the minions were after them. The doors closed, but they pulled them apart and jumped (well, fell, but on purpose) down the elevator shaft. They opened the door into the elevator and fell inside. When the doors opened they were met with the sight of Buffy, the Scooby Gang, and the Buffybot all fighting the minions.

The Buffybot saw them and hurried over. "Angel. You're covered in sexy wounds."

"Yeah." Angel groaned, struggling to remain conscious. "I feel sexy." Then he gave up a passed out.

**00000000ooooooo00000000**

When Angel woke up, the first thing he was aware of was Buffy, the real Buffy, leaning over him. "Buffy?"

"Yes, it's me. How do you feel?"

"Like crap."

Buffy nodded. "You're beat up pretty bad."

"Is everyone ok? Dawn, everyone who was in the fight?"

Buffy nodded again. "You and Spike were the only ones who got a single scratch."

Angel smiled. "Good. That's good." He looked around and saw they were in the Summers' living room. The rest of the gang, Dawn, and Spike were there too. Spike looked at Angel. He was badly beaten too.

"I think that went well." He said.

Angel grinned. "Yeah."

Buffy smiled and kissed Angel gently. "And now that you're both ok," she said. "Which one of you wants to explain to me why there's a robot that looks exactly like me?"

**Please review!**


	19. Tough Love

**Chapter/episode 19: Tough Love. **

**Sorry this is a little late.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Buffy the Vampire Slayer**

Buffy, Angel, and Dawn were sitting in the principal's office at Dawn's school. The principal had called Buffy and said she wanted to talk to her, so here they were. And it wasn't the best of news, either.

"You haven't been going to school?" Buffy said angrily.

"Dawn!" Angel said. "You should know better."

"You've been lying to us?" Buffy asked in disbelief.

"Not exactly." Dawn said in a small voice.

"What about all the times Angel and I both asked you how school was, and you said 'Fine'?" Buffy asked.

"And it was, without me there. You just asked me how it was, you never asked if I was there." Dawn said.

"Dawn, I'm disappointed in you." Angel said seriously. Dawn looked away. "You're fourteen years old. I thought we could trust you."

Buffy looked at the principal. "I'm sure you've heard about what's been going on. It's been very hard on Dawn. Not that that's an excuse!" she added quickly, glaring at Dawn. "And I assure you we will be making sure it stops."

The principal nodded but said, "Dawn, why don't you wait outside for a minute?" Dawn obeyed. The principal looked at Buffy and Angel. "You two are Dawn's legal guardians now that your mother has passed, corrected?"

"Yes." Buffy said. "Our father wasn't able to take her in, so I'm her closest relative. Angel's my fiancé."

"Miss Summers, Social Services keeps a very close eye on cases like this, seeing as you yourself are so young. You are twenty years old?"

"Yes, I am." Buffy said. "We're doing our best."

"I'm sure you are. But things like skipping school are very serious. If you cannot get Dawn to go to school, I'm afraid you won't be considered fit to be her legal guardian."

Buffy paled. Angel spoke up, "I assure you the skipping school stops now. We're both very upset about it and it won't happen again."

"I should hope so." The principal said. "Or Dawn will most likely be removed from your care. You should go."

"Thank you." Angel said, standing up. Buffy did the same. Angel could see the absolute panic and horror in her eyes. He gave her a reassuring look and led her out of the office to meet Dawn.

**00000000ooooooo00000000**

Angel, Buffy, and Dawn walked into the Magic Box, where Willow, Xander, Anya, and Giles were all working. Willow smiled when she saw them. "Hey!" she said. "How did the meeting go?"

"Fine." Angel sighed. He looked at Dawn. "Homework. Now." Dawn winced at the disappointment in his eyes. She knew he was mad. She knew he had expected more of her. She sat down and pulled out her homework without a word.

Willow turned to Buffy. "I've been wanting to talk to you about something."

Buffy glanced at Giles. She wanted to talk to him, but it could wait. "Ok." She sighed. "Shoot."

"Well Tara and I were talking last night." Willow said excitedly. "And we were thinking, you're getting married before long, right? I mean, it's coming up fast. So we thought we could throw you a bridal shower!"

"Oh no, Willow," Buffy began, but Willow cut her off.

"No, nothing big and fancy. We thought maybe just you, me, Tara, Anya, and Dawn? Just a small party? Come on, Buffy, you totally deserve it. And Tara and I would take care of everything! And then I talked to Xander-"

"Uh oh."

"I talked to Xander and he said the guys, just him and Angel and Spike and maybe Giles could have a small party for Angel at Xander's apartment while us girls were together. It's traditional Buffy."

"Normally, Will, I'd be all for it, but I'm just not in a party mood right now." Buffy said.

Angel, who had been listening, said, "I don't know, Buffy, it might be good for you to have some time to relax."

Buffy gave him a look. "And you want to hang out with _Spike _and _Xander _and _Giles_?"

"Hey!" Xander and Giles both objected.

Angel shrugged. "I don't have anything against…well, I don't have anything against Giles, anyway. And Spike and Xander I can deal with, easy. It's not like we've never gotten along. And it's not like Riley's around. _Him _I would have a problem with."

Buffy almost smiled. "I'll think about it." She said. She looked at Dawn and grew serious again. "Giles, can I talk to you? Alone?"

"Of course, Buffy." Giles said. "Back here."

"Angel, you come too." Buffy said, and the three of them went into Buffy's training room. Buffy sat down and cradled her head in her hands.

"What is it, Buffy?" Giles asked, looking concerned.

Angel sat down next to her and put his arm around her. Buffy took a deep breath and told Giles what the principal had told them: that they might lose Dawn. "What am I going to do, Giles?" she groaned when she was finished.

"I think you can deal with this, Buffy." Giles said. "You need to show Dawn that you are in charge now. You have to put your foot down."

"Giles is right." Angel said. "Over time, Dawn will listen to you."

Buffy nodded, stood up, and walked back out to the shop. The next thing Giles and Angel heard was, "What is going on here?" the glanced at each other and followed her.

Dawn was standing in the middle of a triangle that Willow, Xander, and Anya had made with their bodies by lying down on the floor. Willow stood up quickly. "It's my fault." She said. "We were just trying to help her learn."

"It was working." Dawn added.

"Don't be hard on her." Willow pleaded.

"I have to be hard on her, Willow. She has to do this stuff, and I have to make her do it. I don't think I can do a wedding shower, Will. I'm sorry." Buffy said.

"Come on." Willow cried. "You have to have fun someday!"

"Don't worry. I do have a life. I have Dawn's. Come on, Dawn, Angel, we have to leave."

**00000000ooooooo00000000**

"I worried about you." Angel said. Buffy looked up in surprise. They were in the basement. Buffy was doing laundry, and she had been alone until a moment ago. She hadn't even noticed him come in.

"You're worried about me?"

"Yes. You have to relax. You've been under constant stress between Joyce's death and Glory and Dawn. And I know it's hard. I'm worried about what the pressure it doing to you. I want to help."

Buffy kissed him. "That helped." She said softly.

Angel smiled. "You're beautiful. You know that?"

"That helps too."

"I love you."

"Ok, now you're just buttering me up. What do you want?"

"Let me help you."

"With what?"

"With anything! You're doing so much and you're trying to do it by yourself. And I admire your effort, but that fact of the matter is that it's just too much for one person. Please let me help with something. I don't care what it is. And if you won't do that, at least consider Willow's offer for a party? You need it. You deserve it. I just hate watching you suffer like this. You're doing an amazing job. Now relax. Please."

Buffy sighed. "I don't know, Angel. I just don't know." She grabbed the laundry basket and started upstairs. Angel followed.

Dawn was sitting in the dining room, doing homework. Buffy set the basket down and started folding. Angel grabbed a towel and started folding too. Buffy did not argue. She started talking to Dawn, "So I was thinking we should put a chart on the fridge. We write down everything you have to do, and you put a check mark on it when you've done it." Dawn gave her a look. "You want little stars instead? Fine, we'll get little stars."

"I don't want stars." Dawn said coldly. "I don't want any of this."

"It's important that you do everything you're supposed to, Dawn." Angel said. "And now we have to make sure you're doing it, since it turns out you were lying to us before."

"You're not going to let that go, are you?" Dawn asked.

Angel gave her a look. "No, I'm not. It's serious, Dawnie."

"Why do I need charts and things?" Dawn insisted.

Buffy snapped. "Because they could take you away!" she cried. Dawn fell silent and looked at Buffy with big eyes. "If I can't make you go to school, than I won't be seen fit to be your legal guardian. That's what your principal told Angel and me when you weren't in the room."

After a minute, Dawn asked, "Where would I go?"

"I don't know. Foster care. Maybe to Dad? I didn't really want to think about it."

Dawn got up and left the room. Angel looked at Buffy and saw tears in her eyes. He pulled her into a tight embrace. "Don't cry, sweetie. Please don't cry. We can do this. I love you. We can do this."

The phone rang. "I'll get it." Angel said. He left Buffy, walked into the kitchen, and answered the phone. "Hello?"

"Angel." It was Giles. "You and Buffy have to come to the hospital. Right away."

Fear sparked inside Angel. "Why? What happened?"

"Glory attacked Tara. She thought she was the Key and got very angry upon learning she wasn't."

"Oh god." Angel whispered. "How's Tara?"

"It doesn't look very good. She alive, but…I think Glory might have brain-sucked her."

Angel swore that if his heart could beat it would have stopped at that moment. "We'll be there as soon as we can." He hung up. "Buffy!"

Buffy walked in. She was alarmed by the look on his face. "Angel? What happened?"

"Glory. We have to go to the hospital. She got Tara."

Buffy was horrified. "Oh no." she gripped the side of the counter for support. "We have to…what about Dawn? She shouldn't…she shouldn't see that."

"We can leave her with Spike. We have to go. Now."

**00000000ooooooo00000000**

Angel parked the car in front of the hospital. "You know," he said, looking at the building in distaste, "I'm really starting to understand your hatred of hospitals, honey."

He and Buffy went inside, found out where they could find Tara, and went up immediately. They had dropped Dawn off with Spike on the way. He had promised to look after her. Buffy walked into the room first. "We came as soon as we could." She said. She hugged Willow.

Tara was sitting in the bed, muttering nonsense. This confirmed Angel's worst fears: Glory had left her insane.

"They said I can take her home in the morning." Willow said sadly.

"I'm so sorry, Willow." Buffy said quietly.

The doctor came in and took Tara away. She had to spend the night in another room. "Goodbye, sweetie!" Willow called, near tears. Suddenly she got a very dark look, and walked out of the room.

"Willow!" Buffy ran after her.

Angel looked at the others worriedly. "I have a bad feeling about this."

**00000000ooooooo00000000**

Angel and Buffy went to pick up Dawn at Spike's crypt. Buffy told Dawn about Tara. "Oh my god." Dawn whispered. "This is my fault."

"No, Dawnie." Angel said. "It's not."

"Yes it is. She attacked Tara because she thought she was the Key. I'm the Key. It's my fault."

"There's nothing you could have done, Dawn." Buffy said.

"Is Willow going after revenge?" Spike asked.

"She was going to, but I talked her out of it." Buffy said. Angel and Spike glanced at each other and then avoided Buffy's eyes. Buffy narrowed her eyes. "What?"

"You're saying that an extremely powerful witch whose lover was just attacked by an evil hell god is not going to seek revenge simply because you told her not to?" Spike asked, raising his eyebrows.

"I hate to say it Buffy, but I have to agree with him." Angel said.

"Oh my god, you're right." Buffy said in horror. "I have to stop her. Angel, take Dawn home, please, I'll see you there."

"Should I go with you?" Angel asked.

"No, no, I've got it, just take Dawn home, please, I'll be fine." She ran off.

**00000000ooooooo000000000**

**That Night**

Angel had finally forced Dawn to go to bed. He was pacing in the living room anxiously, waiting for Buffy to come home. He was about five minutes away from calling someone to watch Dawn and going out himself to find her.

The door opened. Angel whirled around and saw Buffy walk in. "Angel," she began. He walked over and simply kissed her before she could continue.

It was several moments before they broke apart. "You scared me to death." Angel said. "You know, so to speak. Are you ok?"

"I'm fine. Willow's fine too. Unfortunately, so is Glory."

"I don't care if you didn't hurt Glory." Angel said. "I'm just glad she didn't hurt you." He hugged her tightly. "I was so worried. Dawn was worried too. It took me forever to convince her to go to bed. And then once she was in bed I missed arguing with her because it gave me something to do to distract me."

Buffy smiled a little. "You're such a big softy." She said.

Angel almost pouted. "I am not."

"Are too."

"Am not."

"Are too."

"Oh shut up." Angel said finally, and he kissed her again. He picked her up and carried her upstairs.

**00000000ooooooo00000000**

Buffy, Dawn, Anya, Willow, and Tara were in Tara's dorm room. Willow was sitting in the bed next to Tara, trying to feed her. The other girls were eating too. "I'm sorry Buffy." Willow sighed. "This wasn't the wedding shower I imagined for you."

"It's fine." Buffy assured her. "It's nice. Just us girls."

Dawn looked at Tara. "How is she?"

"She's ok. They gave me a bunch of stuff to keep her calm." Willow said. "I have to take care of her. She means everything to me."

Buffy looked at Dawn and stroked her hair gently. "I know what you mean."

Suddenly the wall came crashing down, and on the other side stood Glory. Buffy stood up. The other looked terrified. "I told you this wasn't over." Glory said.

Tara started to babble in fear. Dawn tried to calm her down. Tara stared at her suddenly, transfixed. "Oh, pretty lights! Pretty!"

Glory looked at Dawn. Then she smiled slowly. Buffy gasped in horror. She knew.

**Cliffhanger! I know in the original Anya wasn't in the last scene, but I added her with the idea that this is the closest they're coming to Willow's idea of a party for Buffy. Please review! **


	20. Spiral

**Chapter/episode 20: Spiral. One of my absolute favorite episodes of all time. Isn't this episode just awesome? This has some of the most epic fight scenes ever. **

**Before we start, I have to say that I am so, so, sorry! I know it took forever to update this. I'm sorry! I'm very ashamed of myself. I said I would update everyday and it's been over a month. I got kind of busy and I just didn't have time to write. Can you please forgive me?**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Buffy, and I'm still very sorry.**

_Previously on Buffy the Vampire Slayer…_

_ Suddenly the wall came crashing down, and on the other side stood Glory. Buffy stood up. The others looked terrified. "I told you this wasn't over." Glory said._

_ Tara started to babble in fear. Dawn tried to calm her down. Tara stared at her suddenly, transfixed. "Oh, pretty lights! Pretty!"_

_ Glory looked at Dawn. Then she smiled slowly. Buffy gasped in horror. She knew. _

Buffy grabbed Dawn's hand and they ran out of the room into the hallway. Glory chased after them. They ran through the building and outside. Buffy knew Glory wasn't far behind. Dawn gasped for breath and stumbled. "Buffy…I can't…" Buffy picked Dawn up and started running again, carrying her.

Glory appeared in front of them. "Any last words?" she asked, smiling.

"Just one." Buffy said. "Truck."

A truck suddenly slammed into Glory, who had been standing in the middle of the road. Buffy took the chance and ran off as fast as she could with Dawn. They had to get out of there.

**000000000oooooooo000000000**

**Xander's apartment**

Angel, Xander, Giles, and Spike were in Xander's apartment, sitting around. Angel and Spike were having an argument about who was crazier, Drusilla or Glory (Spike said Dru, Angel thought Glory) when Dawn came running into the apartment, closely followed by Buffy, Anya, and Willow, who was gently helping Tara inside.

"Angel!" Dawn screeched. Angel stood up and she threw her arms around him. Angel looked from her to Buffy. It was hard to say who looked paler at that moment.

"What happened?" Angel asked, fear sparking inside him. "Buffy?"

"She knows, Angel." Buffy whispered. "She knows."

Angel pulled gently away from Dawn and pulled Buffy into his arms. "Thank God you're ok."

Buffy buried her face into his shoulder. "Angel," she whispered so quietly that only he could hear. "I'm so scared."

"I'm scared too." Angel whispered back. "But we can do this." He kissed her, and then looked up at the others, his arm still around her. "Tell us what happened."

**00000000ooooooo00000000**

"…and then Buffy was all like, 'Truck', and them wham." Dawn said excitedly.

"Excellent." Giles said, looked proudly at Buffy, who was sitting in Angel's arms in a chair. "I always knew you could handle her, Buffy-"

"She was hit by a truck." Buffy interrupted dully. She hadn't said anything since they came in, letting Dawn tell the story while she sat quietly with Angel. He was the only thing keeping her calm at that point.

"So what do we do now?" Spike asked, looking at Angel and Buffy.

"We have to prepare out defenses, don't we?" Xander said. "We should start getting ready for battle."

"No." Buffy said suddenly. She stood up and turned to face everyone. "We can't stop her. We don't stand a chance. We can't win. We can't fight her without all of us ending off dead. She will pick us off one by one until she gets to Dawn. There's only one thing to do. We have to leave Sunnydale."

"What?" Spike cried.

"Run away?" Willow asked in shock.

Buffy looked at Angel, her eyes questioning his opinion of her plan. She trusted his judgment, and only he could affect her decision of whether or not to go with this plan. He nodded. "Buffy's right." He said. "Normally I would hate the idea of running away, but we don't have a choice. We have to leave."

The others absorbed this turn of events for a moment. Finally, Anya, of all people, was the first to speak. "Ok. What should we do?"

"Everybody pack a bag. Only essentials. Don't tell anyone you're leaving. Angel, take care of Dawn. Spike, come with me." Buffy said.

Spike was surprised. "Where are you taking me?"

"You'll see." Was all Buffy said in response.

**000000000oooooooo000000000**

Angel, Dawn, Giles, Willow, Tara, Xander, and Anya were waiting for Spike and Buffy at the spot Buffy told them to wait. Angel kept glancing around nervously; he couldn't help it. He expected to see Glory burst through one of the walls.

Dawn looked at him, and it hit her that Angel was actually scared. Angel never seemed to be afraid of anything, but now he seemed terrified of what was going to happen. That really brought things into perspective. They were in a really serious situation.

"When are they going to be here?" Anya asked.

No sooner had she said this when a large RV pulled up next to them. The door open, and Buffy jumped out. "Everyone on." she said. Angel noticed that all the windows were covered, and then he saw why. Spike was driving.

"Buckle up, kids." Spike said. "Daddy's putting the hammer down."

Angel ushered everyone inside, and then followed, closing the door behind him. Spike started driving again. Angel saw Buffy heading for the back and followed. He shut the door and looked at Buffy. "It's going to be ok." He said. Buffy looked at him, and then started to cry. Angel held her in his arms and waited for her to stop.

**000000000ooooooooo000000000**

Buffy had stopped crying by the time Dawn came in. "Hey." She said. "Anya's going to try to cook. Want to watch the tears and recriminations?"

Angel smiled as Buffy shook her head. Dawn sighed, her expression turning serious. "Where are we going to go?"

"I don't know." Buffy replied. After a moment, she said, "Dawn, I'm sorry. I failed. This is all my fault."

"No you didn't." Dawn said. "You did the right thing. We didn't stand a chance in Sunnydale. Now we have time to make a plan."

Suddenly the RV jerked and there was a noise outside. Buffy, Angel, and Dawn looked at each other. "That's probably not good." Angel said nervously. They got up and went to the front.

"What's going on?" Buffy asked. Giles was driving now. Angel carefully looked through the window, making sure not to shine any light on Spike.

"Um, Buffy?" he said. "We've got company."

"Bloody hell!" Spike cried, carefully looking outside.

Hundreds of men dressed in armor and riding horses were riding toward them, and were plainly going to attack. "What year is this, again?" Angel asked.

"They want the Key." Buffy said. Dawn paled.

"Weapons?" Angel asked.

"Looks like spears and swords, mainly." Spike said.

Angel gave him a look. "I meant us, idiot."

"There's some in my bag." Buffy replied. They jerked again. Buffy grabbed a crossbow and pointed it out the window.

Angel hurried up to Giles. "Try to run over some of them." He suggested.

"Don't hit the horsies!" Willow said shrilly.

"We won't." Buffy said. She gave Angel a pointed look. He nodded and turned back to Giles.

"Aim for the horsies." He whispered. Giles nodded.

The blinds fell off the window, causing sunlight to shine inside. Spike yelled and stumbled back, trying to get out of it. Angel, who was safe over by Giles, took off the ring of Amarra. "Spike, catch!" he yelled, and threw it at the other vampire.

Spike caught it. "Thanks." He said, putting it on. Willow desperately tried to fix the window.

"I've got to go out there!" Buffy yelled, and she climbed outside. There was a thump on the roof.

"Buffy!" Angel cried. "Xander, help Giles." Xander nodded and traded spots with Angel. Angel hurried forward and felt the sun burn his skin. He cried out and stumbled back. Anya helped Willow get the window covered.

"Angel." Spike handed him the ring back.

"Thanks." Angel put it back on and went outside after Buffy.

Buffy was fighting three soldiers on the roof. Angel climbed up and grabbed one from behind, throwing him off before he had a chance to react. This distracted the second one so Buffy had a chance to grab his own sword from him and push him off the edge. She turned to face the last soldier, pointing the second soldier's sword at him. Angel vamped out and the two of them closed in on the soldier. The soldier attacked, but Buffy ducked and Angel kicked him from behind, so he fell forward onto Buffy's back. She flipped him over and off of her so he landed hard on the roof. Buffy pushed him with her foot so he started sliding off, but he grabbed her foot and pulled her with him.

"Buffy!" Angel lunged forward and grabbed her hand just as she was about to fall off. She dangled from the side of the RV, holding onto Angel's hand. "Buffy, hold on!" Angel shouted. He started to pull her up.

Behind him, though, another soldier climbed onto the roof. Seeing that Angel was distracted, he plunged his sword through the roof. Angel heard screams from inside, but he couldn't attack the soldier without letting go of Buffy. And that would never happen.

Angel pulled Buffy onto the roof and they both turned to the soldier. To their surprise, though, he seemed to be fighting to sink the sword into the roof. Something was pushing it up from inside. Buffy suddenly darted forward and shoved the soldier off the roof. Angel grabbed her around the waist to prevent her from falling again. The sword was pushed all the way up and clattered to the ground. Angel pulled Buffy up and kissed her.

After a minute they broke apart. "We should get back inside." Buffy said.

"Yeah." Angel agreed.

They climbed inside. Willow and Dawn were wrapping bandages around Spike's hands. Angel could tell that he'd been the one pushing the sword up by the blade. "Thanks." He said.

"Don't mention it. I saw Buffy dangling from the window; I figured you'd be a little busy." Spike replied.

"Ok, I think we might be ok now." Xander said. "I don't see anymore."

Angel glanced out the windshield and noticed what Xander didn't. One more soldier with a spear pointed at them. "Giles, look out!" Angel shouted, but it was too late. The soldier threw the spear. It came crashing through the windshield and lodged into Giles's side.

The RV turned sharply and spun around. They skidded sideways a moment before the whole thing crashed onto its side.

Buffy was the first to sit up. "Dawn?"

"I'm ok." Dawn groaned.

"Buffy." Xander spoke up, and his voice was panicked. "Buffy!"

"What?" Buffy looked at him and saw what he was looking at. "Giles! Oh, god, Giles!" she crawled through the broken debris over to Giles, who was unconscious and bleeding a lot.

Willow could be heard trying to calm Tara, and Xander made sure Anya was ok. Spike stood up, groaning. "Ow." He said.

Angel was the next to speak: "I guess it's a good thing I'm still wearing the ring, huh?"

Buffy frowned. "What do you…" she trailed off as she turned to look at him. Then she screamed.

Angel was lying on the ground. There was a piece of wood lodged in his chest. It must have broken off of something. If Angel hadn't been wearing the ring of Amarra, he'd have turned to dust.

Buffy moved to go to him, but Spike and Xander got there first. They carefully pulled to wood out of his chest. He cried out in pain as they did. "It may not kill me but it still hurts like hell." He looked at Buffy, who reached his side. "I'll be alright."

She threw her arms around him. "Thank god." She whispered. "I can't lose you."

"Giles is losing a lot of blood." Anya said as she crouched next to the Watcher's side.

"We've got to get out of here." Buffy said.

"But where do we go?" Willow asked.

"I have an idea." Angel said suddenly. He reached into his pocket at pulled out his phone. "Hey, what do you know? Still works." He dialed a number. He waited a moment, and then spoke. "It's Angel. We've got an emergency. Where are you?"

**00000000ooooooooo000000000**

Everyone had gotten out of the ruined RV by the time a van pulled up. Oz jumped out and ran over to them. "I got here as fast as I could." He looked at Angel. "It's a good thing I told you I was nearby, huh?"

"A really good thing." Angel agreed.

"How did you know?" Dawn asked.

"I talked to him the other day." Angel explained. "Giles is really badly hurt, we have to get him in the van."

"We've got him." Buffy asked as she and Xander gently carried Giles to Oz's van.

"There's an empty, abandoned gas station not far from here." Oz told the others. "We should be able to stop and shelter there."

"We better be fast." Angel said. "Buffy says these guys are just going to keep coming."

Oz nodded. "We better get going then."

**00000000ooooooooo00000000**

Once they were at the gas station, Angel, Oz, Spike, and Xander barricaded all the entrances. Buffy and Willow tried to help Giles. Dawn watched Tara, and Anya kept watch for more soldiers.

"They're coming!" Anya yelled suddenly. "I can see them!"

"Buffy, what do we do?" Dawn asked, looking desperately at her sister.

Buffy thought fast. "Willow." She said. "Can you put a protection spell up?"

"Um, yeah, I think so." Willow said.

"Do it, fast." Buffy said. "Dawn, can you watch Giles and Tara?"

Dawn nodded nervously. "I think so."

"Good. Everybody else, grab a weapon and be ready to fight." Arming herself with a crossbow she salvaged from the wreckage, Buffy placed herself next to the main entrance to their shelter. Angel, Spike, Oz, Xander, and Anya followed her lead.

Angel listened and heard the army stop outside. "Now!" he yelled, and they burst outside as the army started to attack. The soldiers circle the building, attacking from all angles. Angel heard Dawn scream inside. "Xander, Anya, go inside and keep the soldiers out and away from Dawn!" he yelled. Xander nodded and ran back with Anya.

Buffy, Angel, Spike, and Oz remained outside, fighting off the soldiers. "Come on, Willow, come on." Buffy muttered to herself.

"Buffy, the shield's almost up!" Xander shouted. Buffy and Angel were fighting the General of the army when they heard him shout. They looked at each other for a moment. Angel nodded. They both grabbed the General's arms fiercely and pulled him forward, inside the boundary of the spell just as it activated. Spike ran over and tackled him, knocking him out.

"Somebody help me tie him up!" he shouted. Oz ran over and helped him.

Angel looked at Buffy. "Are you ok?" he asked.

"Fantastic." She replied.

**00000000oooooooo00000000**

"He should be awake before long." Oz said. They had tied up the General in the back. Angel nodded. He was sitting on the floor with Dawn. Across the room, Buffy went up to Giles and Willow.

"How's he doing?" she asked Willow nervously.

"Not good." Willow replied with a sigh. "He needs a doctor."

Buffy reached over and took Giles's hand. "I'm sorry." She whispered. She looked at Willow again. "I don't know where we could possibly find a doctor." She said. Then her eyes widened. "Wait. Yes I do." She hurried over to Angel. "I need to borrow your phone."

"Um…ok." He handed it to her. "Any particular reason?"

"Giles needs a doctor." Buffy replied. "Or someone training to be a doctor."

**000000000oooooooo000000000**

"He's here, Buffy." Angel said, peering through the window.

"Willow, make an opening in the shield." Buffy instructed. Willow nodded. Buffy stood at the door to meet Ben, who slowly drove up in his car.

Once he was inside the protection spell, he got out and went up to Buffy. "Hey." He said. "Not how I imagined seeing you again."

Buffy sighed. "I realize it's kinda weird."

"No, no, it's ok. We didn't they try to kill me? I mean, I'm not complaining, but why didn't they?"

"We made a deal. We're treating out wounded. That's why you're here."

"Happy to help. I think. Where is he?"

Buffy brought him inside to Giles. Angel was watching when Spike walked over. "Angel, we're trying to get some answers out of our prisoner. Want to help?"

Angel nodded and followed Spike to the back. "Ok." He said as he found the General still tied up. Oz was back there as well. "Tell me about the Key."

"I won't tell you anything."

"Oh I think you will." A voice behind them said. Everyone turned as Buffy walked in the room. "You're going to tell me about the Key, and about Glory. What do you know?"

The General glared at her, but said, "The Beast ruled a hell dimension with her two fellow hell gods. She was the most powerful. She grew so powerful that her fellow gods grew fearful of her. They banished her, and trapped her inside the body of a human baby."

"Who?" Buffy asked.

"The identity of her human host was never identified."

"Let me guess." Angel said. "She found a way to trade places with the human. Trap him inside so she could hatch a plan."

"Exactly." The General said grimly.

"What does the Key do?" Buffy asked.

"It opens the gateway between the dimensions. The Beast wishes to use it to return to her home dimension and take power."

"That's Glory's master plan?" Buffy cried incredulously. "To go home?"

"You don't understand. Once the gate is opened, the dimensions will bleed together. Hell will open up on earth. The world will be destroyed. Only if the blood of the Key stops flowing will the gateway be sealed."

There was silence as everyone absorbed this information. Angel was the next to speak. "Is there a way to destroy the energy that is the Key without killing Dawn?"

The General shook his head. "To destroy the energy, her blood must stop flowing. You must kill the girl."

There was a noise behind them. Buffy, Angel, Spike, and Oz turned around to see Dawn run from the doorway. She'd heard the whole thing. "Dawn," Buffy said, and went after her. Angel followed.

Dawn sat in a corner, looking stony-faced as Buffy and Angel sat next to her. "Destroyer of the universe." She said. "I guess skipping class doesn't look so bad now, huh?"

"Dawn, you know I will never let that happen." Buffy said firmly. "We will not let Glory use you to open the gate. It's not going to happen."

"Buffy's right, Dawnie." Angel said. "You're safe with us. We'll protect you with everything we've got."

"Why?" Dawn asked quietly.

"Because you're me sister." Buffy replied. "I love you."

Suddenly Ben ran into the room, followed by Willow, Anya, and Xander. "Get me out of here!" Ben yelled. "I have to leave, let me out!"

"What happened?" Angel asked as he, Buffy, and Dawn stood up.

"We don't know, he just started to freak out." Anya said.

"You've got to let me out of here, now!" Ben shouted.

Spike and Oz walked in, having heard the commotion. "What's going on?" Oz asked.

"Will, open a door." Buffy said. "I told him I'd let him leave when it got too weird."

"It's too late!" Ben cried, holding his hands to his head. "She's coming!"

"What?" Spike asked, confused.

Angel watched in horror as Ben changed into Glory. Glory looked around, smiled, and grabbed Dawn, pushing away the others who tried to attack her. Then she ran outside carrying Dawn.

"Willow, open it up!" Buffy screamed. Willow did the reversal spell, and they all ran outside. Once outside, though, they stopped dead.

"Oh my god." Angel said. The hundreds of soldiers were all dead. Every single one. Glory and Dawn were nowhere to be seen. Buffy fell to her knees. Angel leaned down next to her, soon to be joined by Willow. "Buffy?" Angel said.

"Buffy, you have to get up!" Willow yelled. "Buffy!"

**The next chapter is The Weight of the World, and I swear you won't have to wait a month. I'll try to get it up by tomorrow, though I'm not sure if I can or not. Still, I'd say a few days at the latest. Please review! (I'm still so sorry!)**


	21. The Weight of the World

**Chapter/episode 21: The Weight of the World. **

**Hello! So…um…I owe you an apology. I promised I wouldn't make you wait as long this time, and I made you wait longer. I'm really, really sorry. I've been really busy with homework, and I had a really hard time writing this chapter (this episode was hard because Angel just didn't fit in much, it's not my favorite chapter), and on top of it all I had some computer problems. And I know that now I'm giving you a long string of excuses. I promise I'll try to do better.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Buffy.**

_Previously on Buffy the Vampire Slayer…_

_ Angel watched in horror as Ben changed into Glory. Glory looked around, smiled, and grabbed Dawn, pushing away the others who tried to attack her. Then she ran outside carrying Dawn._

_ "Willow, open it up!" Buffy screamed. Willow did the reversal spell, and they all ran outside. Once outside, though, they stopped dead._

_ "Oh my god." Angel said. The hundreds of soldiers were all dead. Every single one. Glory and Dawn were nowhere to be seen. Buffy fell to her knees. Angel leaned down next to her, soon to be joined by Willow. "Buffy?" Angel said._

_ "Buffy, you have to get up!" Willow yelled. "Buffy!"_

Buffy still hadn't reacted to anything. Angel had carried her inside, where everyone was now trying to decide their next move. Angel held Buffy's hand, barely listening to the others. "Buffy, sweetheart, can you hear me?" he said, quietly. "It's me. It's Angel. Please, baby, you have to wake up."

"Anything?" Spike asked him. He shook his head. "Well, you've got to try harder." Spike leaned in so his face was close to Buffy's. "Buffy! Slayer, wake up!"

Willow had walked over and also gave it a try. "Buffy? It's Willow. Can you hear me?"

"I don't think she can." Angel sighed miserably. "She's catatonic, I can tell."

"But why?" Willow asked.

"Isn't it obvious? Buffy's put everything she's got into protecting Dawn, used every waking moment of energy making sure she was safe. But she got taken anyway. It was too much for her to handle."

There was silence for a few moments after this. Finally Anya broke it. "So what do we do now?"

"Giles needs to get to a hospital." Willow said. "We need to find Dawn. And we need to get Buffy back. Here's the plan. We're all going back to Sunnydale. Xander's going to take Giles to the hospital. Angel, Spike, and Oz should go to Glory's base, try to find out where to find Dawn."

"Actually," Oz cut in. "I should stay here. Somebody's got to take care of the mess that's been left here."

Willow nodded. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

"Ok, just Angel and Spike then. Anya, Tara, and I will take Buffy back to…Xander's apartment is probably safest, and try to bring her back."

Angel spoke up. "Willow, I want to-"

"No. Angel, I get it, I know you want to be with Buffy but you've got to leave this to me. I can use magic to go inside her mind and bring her out of this catatonic state. But you can't help me with that. Right now you're needed with Spike to go find Dawn."

Angel sighed unhappily. As much as he wanted to stay with Buffy and make sure she was alright, he knew Willow was right. And he trusted her to take care of Buffy. "Ok. But I want you to call me as soon as she wakes up."

Willow nodded. "Of course. Any questions?"

"Yeah." Spike said. "What are we going to do about Ben?"

"He must have run off when Glory got here." Xander said.

Spike and Angel glanced at each other. "No." Angel said. "Ben _is _Glory. Remember?"

"What?" Willow asked, looking confused.

"Ben transformed into Glory." Spike said, slowly, as though he were speaking to a small child. "Right in front of you."

"I don't…no he didn't." Anya said.

Spike gave them all an incredulous look. "Is everyone here very stoned?"

"Oh, I get it." Angel said suddenly, standing up. "Oh, she's very clever. Glory's worked it out so that no one remembers seeing her little transformation, so no one makes the connection between her and Ben. And you and I, not exactly being human, remain unaffected."

"So Glory turns into Ben, and Ben turns into Glory." Willow said slowly, frowning as though concentrating hard.

"Ben is Glory." Xander finished.

"Bingo." Angel said.

"Excellent." Giles gasped, trying to sit up. "So, do we suspect a connection between Ben and Glory?" Angel and Spike both groaned.

**00000000oooooooo00000000**

"You sure you'll be ok here by yourself?" Angel asked Oz as they got ready to leave.

Oz nodded. "I don't think anyone else will come here now that Glory, Dawn, and you guys are all gone. Someone's got to do something about the mess left here. I'll be fine. You're needed in Sunnydale."

"Thanks." Angel said. He turned to go.

"Oh, and Angel?" Oz added quickly. Angel paused and looked back. "She'll be alright. I know she will be."

Angel managed a very small smile. "Thanks, Oz. Be careful."

"You too."

Angel went over to Willow. "Everything's ready." He said.

"Good, we can go then." Willow replied. Seeing the nervous look on his face, she added, "I'll take good care of her, Angel."

"I know you will. I just hope it works."

"It will." Willow assured him. "She'll be ok. Let's get going.

**00000000oooooooo00000000**

Angel and Spike walked through Glory's base. "It looks like she cleared out." Angel sighed. "There's no one here."

"Maybe she knew we'd come here looking." Spike suggested.

"No." Angel shook his head. "She wouldn't worry about that. She doesn't consider us much of a threat. She'd be confident enough to take us if we showed up here. There's got to be another reason she left."

"Let's look around." Spike said. They wandered around her fancy apartment, looking for any clues as to where Glory might have taken Dawn. "Hey, look at this." Spike said. Angel came over and looked into the small room Spike was in. It was a very tiny bedroom.

"Looks like this is where Ben stays." Angel said.

"Yeah, looks like." Spike agreed.

Angel went back up to the main room. "There's nothing here." He sighed. "They've cleared out. Even her stuff is gone."

"So what do we do now?" Spike asked.

Angel thought about it. "Let's go to the hospital and find Giles and Xander. Then we'll come up with our next move."

**00000000oooooooo00000000**

Giles was leaving the hospital just as Angel and Spike got there. "Are you sure you're up to leaving?" Xander asked.

"I'll be fine, Xander, we have work to do." Giles groaned. He saw Angel and Spike coming toward them. "What did you find?"

"Nothing." Angel grumbled.

"The place was cleaned out." Spike said.

"So what do we do now?" Xander asked.

"We have to find out where Glory has taken Dawn." Giles said. "Where would she have taken the Key before using it?"

"I don't know. And I don't have the slightest idea how to find out." Angel sighed. He ripped the just lit cigarette out of Spike's hand and crushed it under his foot. "And you can't smoke in a hospital!"

Spike gave him a look. "I might know a guy. They call him Doc. He's supposed to know everything that goes on around here. He might know."

"It's worth a shot." Angel said. "Take me and Xander with you, and the three of us will see what he has to say." He turned to Giles. "We can drop you off at the Magic Box on the way. Can you do some research?"

Giles nodded. "Of course."

"Let's go." Xander said. The four of them started walking down the hall.

"Oh by the way," Spike said. "We found Ben's hideout at Glory's place. It looked like he'd been camped out there for a while."

"Ben? What does Ben have to do with Glory? Are you saying they're working together some how?" Xander asked, looking confused.

Spike groaned. "This is going to be totally worth is." He said, and punched Xander in the face. They both cried out in pain, causing people to stare.

"Spike." Angel sighed, pulling him down the hall. "You should have let me hit him." He muttered. Spike grinned.

**00000000oooooooo00000000**

Spike, Angel, and Xander walked cautiously inside. "Doc?" Spike asked, spotting the old man. He turned around.

"Hello again." He said. "You were the one whose friend wanted to bring back her mother."

"This is where you brought Dawn to learn how to bring back Joyce?" Angel hissed.

"Yeah." Spike said, answering both Doc and Angel. "Listen, we need some information. We're looking for a hell god called Glory. She has the Key and she's going to try to unlock the walls between the hell dimensions. Do you know where we could find her?"

Doc froze. "I'm afraid I cannot help you." He said after a moment, walking across the room.

"Do you know anything? Anything at all?" Xander asked desperately.

"I don't know anything about the beast. You should leave now."

Angel had been watching Doc very closely since they arrived. He spoke up, "We hadn't called her the beast, Doc."

Doc froze for a second, and then turned and smiled at Angel. "Oops." He said. He started walking toward them.

"Oh no." Xander groaned.

Suddenly a very long tongue came shooting out of Doc's mouth. Spike and Angel both jumped sideways to avoid being hit by it. Angel grabbed a nearby table and hit Doc in the head as hard as he could with it. Doc fell to the ground, unconscious. He looked at Spike and Xander. "Run." He said, and the three of them left the house.

**00000000oooooooo000000000**

Angel, Spike, and Xander walked into the Magic Box and found Giles sitting at the table with about half the books in the store laid out in front of him. He looked up when they came in. "Did you learn anything from Spike's informant?"

"No." Xander grumbled.

"Turns out Spike's informant was deeply evil with a desire to kill us." Angel said, glaring at Spike as he spoke.

"Well I didn't know!" Spike cried.

"You could have guessed. I can't remember that last time I saw someone that shady." Angel retorted.

"Well may I remind you that _I am evil_! Big Bad here, remember?" Spike said, pointing to himself.

"Um, I'm all for insulting Spike, but don't you think we have more important work to do?" Xander asked Angel.

Angel sighed. "For once, you're right." He glared at Spike again. "I'll yell at you later." He told him, and then sat down next to Giles. "Have you found anything out?" he asked.

Giles sighed, taking his glasses off to clean them. "Well, there's only one thing I've discovered that's of help to us." He sighed and looked at Angel as he put his glasses back on. "But Buffy isn't going to like it."

"What isn't Buffy going to like?" a voice behind them said. Everyone turned and saw Buffy, Willow, Anya, and Tara standing by the door.

"Buffy!" Angel jumped up and ran over to her. She threw her arms around him as he reached her. "I was so worried about you." He whispered to her. "How do you feel?"

"I'm ok." Buffy replied. "I mean, I'll be fine." She kissed him, and then a look of determination appeared on her face. "We have to save Dawn." Angel nodded and gave her a small smile before they both joined the others around the table. "Ok, Giles." Buffy said. "What did you find out that I'm not going to like?"

"Well," Giles began carefully "I've been doing some research on the Key and how it is used. As far as I can tell, Glory is going to use the Key tonight. If she is successful, the walls will only stop unraveling if the blood of the Key stops flowing." He looked at Buffy, regret in his eyes. "Buffy…we're going to have to kill Dawn." Buffy's eyes widened in horror, and she tightened her grip on Angel's arm. Because that was one of the few things she just couldn't do.

**I'm sorry you waited so long for a chapter so short. There just wasn't all that much to change in this episode. It's never been one of my favorites, anyway. I love Spiral, and The Gift is heartbreaking but good, but this one just didn't really do it for me. Speaking of The Gift, that's the next episode and the final episode in this story before we move on to the next volume (season 6). All the info you need for the next story will be in the author's note at the end of The Gift. Please review!**


	22. The Gift

**Chapter/episode 22: The Gift. Last chapter of this volume of the story. Let me just say, this episode is so sad, and adding Angel, in my opinion, just made is sadder. I cried while writing it. **

**Remember earlier in this story, when I published Listening to Fear and Into the Woods on the same day, and I said one of the reasons was guilt? Well that's what's happening now too. I made you wait over a month for The Weight of the World and a month for Spiral, and _this _chapter was done (I write out of order sometimes…a lot, actually), so I figured I'd be nice and treat you with a second chapter this evening. This also means that I'm getting With You By My Side finished, so I can start on season 6. Info for that story is in the closing author's note, but don't worry about it until you finish this heartbreaking finale. **

**Well here goes: **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Buffy the Vampire Slayer**

Buffy walked back inside. "Where did you go?" Willow asked, puzzled.

"Out back. I saved a guy from a vampire." Buffy replied.

"That's my girl." Angel said. Buffy sighed and sat down next to him. "So what's the plan?"

"I will not kill Dawn." Buffy said firmly.

"If you don't, hundreds of people will die!" Giles shouted.

"It isn't her fault!"

"I'm not going to kill her either." Angel said. "There's got to be another way."

"What if we stopped Glory before she opened the portal?" Buffy asked. "Everything would be avoided, right?"

"Yes, but Buffy, Glory is far too powerful." Giles argued.

Buffy shook her head. "No." she said. "She's not. We can beat her. It won't be easy, but we can."

To everyone's surprise, Spike was the one who spoke up first. "Ok. What do you want us to do?"

**0000000ooooooo0000000**

Angel assembled a few things in the Magic Shop, waiting for Buffy and Spike to come back. Xander and Anya came back from downstairs. Anya went over to Giles, but Xander joined Angel. "Everything ready?"

"Yeah." Angel said. He sighed. "You know what this feels like? The Ascension. It feels just like when we were preparing for that."

"Only this time you aren't planning on abandoning Buffy afterwards?"

Angel grimaced. "No. I'd like to marry her instead."

Xander nodded. "You will."

Buffy and Spike came in. "We've got everything." Spike said. Buffy went up to Angel kissed him. Xander smiled and went to help Spike.

"Dawn's going to be ok, Buffy." Angel said softly.

"I hope you're right."

"Don't worry. We'll defeat Glory, we can beat her. Then Dawn will be safe, and you and I can get married like we want to."

"It's impossible not to worry. But maybe you're right. I love you, Angel. I'm not ever going to let you go."

"You'll always be my girl, Buffy. I love you too. With you by my side, I can do anything."

Buffy smiled a little at him. "With you by my side, I can do more."

"Is that a challenge?"

Buffy, still smiling, just shook her head and kissed him. It was a long, loving kiss. She finally pulled away. "Let's do this."

**0000000ooooooo0000000**

They let Tara lead them to a tower. "That's it." Buffy breathed. "You ready, Wil?"

"Yeah. Could use a little courage, though." Willow said. Spike offered her his flask. "The real kind, but thanks."

Angel smiled a little, and squeezed Buffy's hand. "Let's go."

The battle began. Angel knew the head start would be short, but it seemed almost nonexistent. He was fighting before he knew it. He saw the Buffybot attack Glory. They fought for a while until Glory kicked the Buffybot's head off. Her eyes widened at the sight of the wires. "The Slayer's a robot!" she cried. "Did everyone else know the Slayer was a robot?"

"You're not the brightest god in the heavens, are you Glory?" the real Buffy said from behind Glory. Glory turned around, and Buffy hit her with Olaf's hammer.

Their fight continued until Glory took Buffy's hammer. "Lost your hammer, sweetheart. Now what are you going to hit me with?"

Suddenly a wrecking ball slammed into Glory. "Whatever's handy." Buffy said. Angel gave Xander, who was driving the wrecking ball, a thumbs up and then ran to the tower. He looked up just in time to see Spike get thrown off the top of the tower. Spike was knocked out by the impact, and if he was human it would have killed him. Angel knew Dawn was up there.

"Buffy!" he shouted.

He turned around again, and saw Buffy leaning over not Glory, but Ben. "Never come back." She was saying.

"Buffy." Angel said. "Dawn-"

"I've got it." Buffy started up the tower, and Angel went after her.

Dawn was standing at the top of the tower, wearing a dress. Angel knew she was bleeding, he could smell the blood. She was crying.

"Buffy, I'm sorry." She sobbed. "It's too late…I have to jump. Only if my blood stops flowing will the portal stop."

"No!" Buffy yelled back. She appeared to be thinking. "_You_ don't have to jump."

Dawn and Angel both figured it out at the same moment. Angel felt himself freeze. Dawn screamed. "No!"

"Dawn, listen to me. I love you. That's never going to change. You have to live, Dawn. The hardest thing in this world is to live in it. Live Dawn. Live for me."

She turned to Angel. He finally remembered how to move and speak. "Buffy, no, you can't, I-I need you Buffy, you can't leave me…" he stuttered through his words.

"Shh, honey. I have to do this."

"There has to be another way!" his voice cracked and broke, tears in his eyes.

"You and I both know there isn't. This is my gift, Angel. Death is my gift. Protect Dawn for me, Angel. Protect the others, too. Carry on my work. Don't let the evil win."

"Buffy, please, please, I can't do this without you. You're my world, my everything, I'll be nothing without you. We…we haven't had enough time, I can't lose you now. I'll die, Buffy, I won't be able to take it…"

"Angel, sweetie, I love you forever. Death doesn't end that. I'll still be with you. Our love is eternal, it's forever. I'll never truly leave you. You have to be strong. For me."

"I love you!" he shouted. "I love you."

"I love you too." She stepped forward and kissed him. She held his hand for a moment. "Goodbye, Angel."

Then she turned and ran to the edge, and jumped. "No!" Angel shouted. Tears fell from his eyes. He grabbed Dawn's hand and ran down the tower. Maybe, by some miracle, she'd survive…but he didn't really believe. But he wanted to so badly.

He reached the bottom and let go of Dawn. He ran past everyone else, and stopped at the spot where Buffy had jumped. He cried out, the pain in his voice strong, and fell to his knees at her body. He broke down, letting the tears stream down his face. He knew the others came up behind him, but he didn't care. So what if they saw him cry his eyes out? Nothing mattered. Buffy was…he couldn't finish the thought. He reached out and touched her hand. He sobbed harder. "Buffy…B-B-Buffy, I-I'm so s-sorry baby…"

Somebody put their arms around him and hugged him tightly. He was too disoriented to tell who it was. He didn't care. He stared at Buffy's body, crying harder than he had ever cried in his existence.

"Angel…" it was Willow's voice. She was the one holding him, though she was also crying. "Angel, it wasn't your fault."

"She's gone." He whispered. "She's really gone. How am I supposed to go on without her?"

Dawn came up on Angel's other side. Angel put an arm around her, and buried her face into his shoulder.

"I know." He whispered to her as she cried. "I know."

He didn't think he could ever stop crying. How could he live, now that his other half was gone?

**0000000ooooooo0000000**

**A few days later**

Angel sat in the bedroom he used to share with Buffy. This room had so many memories for him, going all the way back to when Buffy was in high school. Most of the memories were nice, except it reminded him yet again of where he was going soon. They were having Buffy's funeral that night.

Angel could hardly stand it. She was gone, forever. He had died over two centuries ago, but this was the first time he really felt dead. It just wasn't fair.

"Angel?" Willow walked in the room slowly. "Everyone is ready to go whenever you are."

Angel kept looking around. "Our first kiss was right over there." He said.

"I know." Willow said. "I remember Buffy telling me." She smiled slightly at the memory.

"She didn't know I was a vampire yet. It was a disaster." He shook his head. "Sometimes…I would come just to watch her. Once we were together…we would sneak in here after patrol. There were some close calls with Joyce, but Buffy always talked her way out of it." Willow smiled again. Angel continued. "I proposed to her in this room. Right where you're standing." He almost smiled, lost in the memory. "She seemed so happy."

"Of course she was happy." Willow said quietly. "She loved you so much, Angel. You made her so happy by asking her to marry you. You two should have had a long, happy marriage. It's really not fair."

"It's all my fault." Angel sobbed, falling apart again.

"No Angel." Willow said fiercely. "It was _not_ your fault. Don't think for a moment that it was."

"If I had been a little faster, a little smarter, maybe no one would have had to jump. Not Buffy, not Dawn, nobody!" he shouted. Willow stepped forward and embraced him. He let himself cry into her shoulder.

"It's ok." She soothed him. She didn't try to stop him. He needed a shoulder to cry on too. "Are you ready to go to the funeral?"

Angel pulled back, wiping his eyes. "Yeah. I'm ready."

**0000000ooooooo0000000**

They were having the funeral at night. Because they were pretending Buffy was still alive, it was just Angel, Dawn, Willow, Tara, Xander, Anya, Giles, and Spike. Anya came right up to Angel. "I'm sorry." She said. For once, she seemed serious and understanding, possibly even less blunt. "I never got to tell you, because I was injured in the battle, but I'm very sorry about Buffy."

Angel nodded. "Thanks Anya."

"I mean, it must be terrible for you, to have her taken away right before your wedding-"

"Yes, thank you Anya." Angel said, finding it a little unnecessary to point this out.

"I mean, you guys were going to be married, and would be together forever, but now she's gone, and you'll never get to see her again." Anya continued.

"Anya," Xander said quickly "Why don't we stand over here." He took Anya hand and pulled her away, mouthing _"Sorry"_ to Angel as he went.

Spike walked up and stood next to Angel. "How are you holding up?" he asked. It was hard to tell if he really cared or not. He had seemed pretty upset himself over Buffy's death. Angel suspected he was fonder of her than he ever let on.

"I'll be ok." Angel answered. "She's in a better place now, right? I guess that's good…I should be happy for her, now that she's somewhere better then here." He had to use all his strength to keep his voice from wavering. "But I'm not. I miss her so much."

"Yeah, I miss her too. The girl had spunk, she kept my life interesting." Spike said. "She was a good Slayer."

"She was the best." Angel said. "No one's ever going to be better."

**000000ooooooo0000000**

Angel drove home with Dawn, Willow, and Tara after the funeral. Willow and Tara had moved in with them. No one spoke the entire trip.

When they got home, Angel went straight up to bed. He didn't want to talk to Willow about the Buffybot, or have Tara ask if there was anything she could do to make him feel better.

He still slept in Buffy's old room, where he had always slept with her. Willow and Tara had taken Joyce's old room.

He lay in bed, unable to think about anything other than Buffy. What was he supposed to do without her? He missed her so much, it was like an aching throughout his whole body, and he was in agony.

He must have been in bed for an hour when he heard someone at the door. He sat up. "Dawn?"

"I couldn't sleep." Dawn said. "Can I come in?"

"Yeah." Angel said. She walked through the dark toward him and sat down on the bed. He put his arms around her. "How are you doing?"

"Awful." Dawn answered. Angel nodded.

"I know the feeling."

"It should have been me." Dawn said tearfully. "I was supposed to be the one to jump. Why did she do it?"

"She didn't want you to die. She loves…loved you. She wanted you to live."

"I'm sorry." Dawn whispered. "You lost her because of me. You should hate me."

"No." Angel said. "I love you. We're family, Dawn. You're my little sister."

They sat quietly. Angel let his mind wander. He knew Dawn was hurting. She had lost her sister. And so soon after losing her mother…

Angel thought about when Joyce died. He remembered holding Buffy and letting her cry in his arms. He knew how she felt now. He could clearly remember the things they'd said.

_ "I'm just thinking about tomorrow."_

_ "What's tomorrow?"_

_ "That's exactly what I don't know."_

She was right. Now he had to move on, push through life without her. It would be the hardest thing he's ever had to do, but he would do it. He had to. For her.

"What are you thinking about?" Dawn asked, reminding Angel of Buffy when they were lying in bed together.

Angel sighed and closed his eyes. "Tomorrow."

**The End…for now. I hope you enjoyed this volume of my Bangel series. We're not finished of course, not by a long shot. So here's the info you want:**

**The season 6 rewrite is going to be called _More Than a Dream_. The first chapter will be posted on Sunday, May 6. I promise, cross my heart! The story _will _be put online on Sunday. I can't guarantee an exact time, but I can guarantee it will be that day. (If it doesn't, then my computer is being evil again and not working. It won't do that, though, if it knows what's good for it.). So just to recap: More Than a Dream, Sunday May 6. See you there.**

**Thalia Grace DaughterOfZeus13**


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